I'm totally in a sweet spot in my life right now!

My little baby girl is a nut bar! As crazy as her hair, I'd say! She's so cute and I love her to death but she makes lots of messes, BIG messes, has a ton of energy and is just go-go-go every minute she is awake.  She also has a very driven personality. She knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. Right now, she wants to walk! I don't think she is physically ready because she can only walk short distances but she does it all the time and the look on her face while doing it is sheer pride. Then the other day I casually went into another room to wash my face and forgot to close the other bathroom door. No big deal. I come back to brush my teeth and there, on the floor, is a huge puddle of pee-water from the toilet, a pile of unravelled toilet paper and my baby in the middle of it, sucking the pee-water out of the toilet paper. Ah, life.

The kids, with Jesse wearing Mr. Potato Head's hat. At the library.

 Jesse's in Mandarin Immersion and counts to 39 in Mandarin about a hundred times a day. I guess he likes it. The other day my sister asked him if he has made friends in school. He said, yes. She then asked, "are they Chinese? Or white?" He said as he skipped happily away, "Nope! They're skinny like me." Haha! Jesse started soccer again and he loves it, which makes me so happy! Because I'm so competitive! He's really good and must burn a thousand calories running after that ball because he runs after it constantly-no matter where it is. Not very efficient but a good workout, as I see it. He also talks non-stop and asks questions I don't understand and makes abstract and obscure observations. I spend a great deal of my day confused.

Breanna continues to be funny and beautiful and mellow. She's just chill and I love that about her. Again, so different from me. Every day she wants to wear a dress that "dances really wide." I remember the first time she saw her cousin Avery twirl at the Christmas dance. She was barely two but since then, she's had an obsession with twirling in dresses that spin out.

Brad turned 31, thank goodness because I always feel so awkward for the month that I'm 4 years older than him! For his birthday I put his mission pictures in a scrapbook and have completed about four pages. I'm not good, but I've made a new friend who scrapbooks and I'm amazed-I like it. This is all very strange considering I have always claimed, rightly so, to be the least crafty person I know. And all I can think about is my friend Silvana right now reading this and thinking, Sarah, you've changed. Haha! But truthfully, I can't see myself scrapbooking ever again after this one is finished. Although for Halloween I think I may make cake bites for my children's school parties. What is happening to me??

As always lately, life is so good!!

Aaaaaand the Corn Maze

Joy and Thanksgiving

I've had about the best weekend ever! Friday was my fairy godmother day, always one of my favorite days of the month! Then Friday night I went to the temple with my husband (thanks Candace and Dave, you are the wind beneath our wings :) and felt the sweet, beautiful spirit only found at the temple. The gospel is truly 'good tidings of great joy!' Saturday I went for a run and we enjoyed a nice day at home with nothing to do. Sunday was Thanksgiving Dinner at my Mom's house and my sister came from Texas with her kids. Turkey and pumpkin pie against the beautiful backdrop of fall, wow! We had so much fun.

The Little Kid Table

 Brad always talks about how sweet potato pie is the most underrated pie. So when we were asked to bring dessert to Thanksgiving dinner I told my Mom we would be bringing sweet potato pie. She insisted we also bring pumpkin pie. So Brad felt a little slighted and being the trixter that he is made a pumpkin and a sweet potato pie, told everyone they were both pumpkin pies using different recipes and made them pick which one they liked best. He felt very vindicated when everyone chose the sweet potato pie. Good one, Brad!

 Hunter (my nephew, to the left) worked SO hard to help make this pile of leaves. He was very passionate about it and stood by to watch everyone jump in it. Can you sense the enthusiasm? Haha. But really, it was so much fun running down the hill and into the pile.

Leaf Fight!! Not so fun when sticks are added to the mix and YOU are the target.

 Lexi being beautiful

In a tree, this does not look comfortable. So much for living in a tree, Margaret Atwood style: (LOVE this book!!!)

That time again

Happy Me

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but I complain a bit (what's that? You have? I do it all the time? Okay). So I want to take a post to clear some things up.

I love being a Mom! It's the most fulfilling, best thing I have ever done. I love when Afton first wakes up and I pick up her small little body and snuggle her. I feel so proud watching Jesse so bravely walk to school (and then I pat myself on the back for sending him with rain boots and an umbrella, because that might seem small to you but I always forget stuff like that). I feel happy when Breanna's teacher says to me, "she's always happy, isn't she?" I love hearing my kids laugh together. Breanna is so funny and can keep Jesse and everyone laughing. I love seeing how different she is from me-she is not a people pleaser! I love that Jesse is such a good sport. He has a friend who is so rough other kids cry when they play with him, but Jesse just lets it all roll off his back. So not me, I want to shake the kid :) I love when his teacher says he's  passionate about learning. I love reading to my kids. I love when I'm stomping around stressed out and mad and Jesse says something funny and then I laugh and feel like a tool. I love taking them fun places and having play dates and doing homework with them. I love cooking! I love when I give them healthy food and they eat it without me having to bribe them. I love listening to them pray at night, I love teaching them the gospel. I even love cleaning, though it takes a back seat these days. I loved seeing Afton take her first step. I love volunteering at the school. The other day Jesse got two invitations to two different birthday parties from kids in his class. After explaining to him the situation, I asked him which one he wanted to go to and he said "neither. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings." Yep, he's special.

I guess I don't mind that in this picture I have yellow teeth and lots of wrinkles.

I also love the gospel. I love the personal relationship I have with the Savior and that I can address my Father in Heaven in prayer every day, ask for things and get them. I am grateful for how the gospel asks me to be better and not make excuses for myself.

I have so much to be grateful for! Growing up poor (and I mean really poor) helps me because I never look at others who have more than me and feel jealous. I just look around at what I have and am amazed at how rich I am! I can afford rain boots and umbrellas for my kids. I have a warm home, we have all the food we need every day. We have clothing- for all kinds of weather! and cable and internet and a car that runs well and enough for babysitters and dates and other fun family outings. I love our lake and how close we are to Fish Creek Park. We have enough to pay the bills every month and some for putting kids in activities, properly dressed even (although a lot of that is hand-me-downs, I love hand-me downs). I am grateful for Brad who makes this all possible! I am grateful he is my best friend and that we will be together forever.

I am happy to be healthy and that my family and extended family are healthy.

I love this beautiful world.

So yes, I complain a lot, but deep down this is how I feel, so please keep that in mind! These things define who I am and how I feel on a day to day basis, through good and bad.

I know I said I would blog every day last week but it obviously didn't happen. My brain wasn't inspired in any way to blog about anything. In fact I'm still sitting here not knowing what to blog about. We have been outside lots lately enjoying the sheer beauty of the world around us with the warm weather and all. I always wish I would have brought my camera but it's on its last legs and I get so annoyed carrying it around. So then I don't have pictures and that makes it boring.

Afton's hair is always so crazy and she's always such a mess and her clothes are always dirty, I basically let her wander around and eat rocks and sand and sticks and whatever else she comes across (except poo and cigarette butts). After I pick Jesse up from school we always stick around and play at the park for a while. I just let Afton go nuts and sometimes I get busy chatting and lose track of her altogether. People act understanding but I still feel self conscious of it sometimes. I wonder if I'm taking "free range parenting" to a whole new level. She doesn't say any words or walk or anything. She's cute though and I know she's smart she just can't be bothered.

Yesterday and today was General Conference. I know the church is true. I don't know if it's possible to listen to those talks and not know the church is true.

This was one of my favourites.



Friday night I was at Wal Mart with Brad at about 10:00 at night and there were a bunch of parents there with their kids and I was so jealous. I was like, I wish I could be the kind of parent that just didn't care! Deep down I am 100% like that. I think I'm burning out a bit. I'm just so busy all the time I can hardly enjoy life or my kids. If I don't watch it one day I'm going to snap and start homeschooling my kids and living off the grid.