I have nothing to say, except sometimes I am so happy and that I love my life and my husband and little kids and the gospel and autumn in the sun.

Eating spinach soup before church...well, not really eating it I guess...but they did...most of it.

Yesterday was one of those rare days when I woke up in a good mood and well rested. The first thing I saw when I finally came out of my room was beautiful Breanna who said "Mom, it's your birthday!" And she gave me a big hug. Jesse marched upstairs a minute later with a funny card from Brad that said all kinds of sweet things about me and a box of Callebaut chocolates. I felt loved by the kids and Brad.
Driving Brad to school it was foggy, and I love the fog. The drive home was even better because out came the sun and some blue sky for the first time in what seems like weeks. September sky is so blue, nothing can compare. It can be as cold as it wants if you give me that sun and blue sky against the golden leaves. And there was steam coming off the river. And I saw a bluebird. I felt loved by God.
After I dropped Brad off I saw a huge flock of gulls in the middle of the football field in the fog. I put on the hazards and let the kids out to run after them and watch them scatter. Then I felt like a good Mom.(Unlike yesterday when I took the kids to Old Navy and kept losing Breanna and Breanna and Jesse were fighting over his sweater and Breanna was screaming and I heard some kid say to her Mom, we don't yell like that, do we Mom, and the Mom said, no, we don't yell like that. And then I started snapping at the kids and barking orders.)

That afternoon I got to shop! Brad held my hand lots and I love that! We came home and I took the kids to the park while Brad made supper.  I was the giant (since I don't run and giants don't run) and so I would stomp around and try to catch them, but they were safe in the "forrest". It was fun. Then I felt like a good Mom again.

We came home to the most delicious supper of roast lamb with mint sauce, garlic-herb roasted potatoes and steamed lemony garlic brussell sprouts. Mmmmm! I went to my sister's house to have cake with her kids. I scraped off the top of the cake, because it was MY cake and MY birthday, and proportionately you get more icing that way.

My nephew Asher did this for me. He's kind of a genius:

 To top off the night, Brad made popcorn and we stayed up late watching Robin Hood together.

Oh 34, you can't come soon enough! :)

These pictures do not do justice to the cuteness that was my little man helping deliver flyers and bags for the interfaith food bank's city-wide food drive. His little feet were running as fast as they could to keep up with Brad, pulling a flyer out to make sure it was ready to put in the bag for the next house.

He took "service" as he called it, very seriously.  I don't know where he gets his non-stop crazy energy from but channel it and he sure can do amazing things!

If I had to describe Breanna in a word it would be "dreamy"

She's always in her own little world. She loves to look around and take everything in. Books, princess clothes, dancing, singing, tinkering on the piano and sweets bring her the most joy. She falls a lot. She walks really, really sloooooow (ask anyone who's ever taken her anywhere). She has to touch things as she passes them. When we go to the park she  plays with the rocks and sings and tells stories to herself. She would rather be alone, usually. Let's just say, I'm pretty sure which side of the family she got her personality from....and it's not Brad's :)

I was very happy this morning when I saw Breanna dancing around in her ballet clothes for the first day of ballet. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was young until I was told I don't have the feet for it and I'm too tall, plus we were way too poor. So maybe I'm fulfilling my own childhood fantasy here, but lucky for me, she loves it, too.

Yay for dreamy girls....and for dreams!

p.s. do you like the empty, plantless pot in my living room? Yep, still scrimping :)