5 years down, 35 to go!

We asked (ahem, I mean bribed with a brownie) the girls to sing "Families Can Be Together Forever" tonight for Family Home Evening. (This is a special night once a week in our church designated for families to spend time together and learn about gospel principles.) Here are the Hudson-style lyrics to this song:


I have a family here on earth,
they are so good to me.
I want to share my life with them through all eternity.

Chorus:
Families can be together forever,
through Heavenly Father's plan.
I always want to be with my own family
and the Lord has shown me how I can,
the Lord has shown me how I can.

While I am in my early years,
I'll prepare most carefully
So I can marry in God's temple
WHEN I TURN 40. (should be "for all eternity")
Chorus

We were satisfied to hear that Charity has picked up the Hudson modification. :) Celeste is so convinced that it's supposed to be sung this way, that she corrected her primary teacher last year! Hmmm, I wonder how long we'll be able to keep this up!

(The end of the video is the funniest!)

Birthday Boy!

Our little baby boy turned 1! The following pictures are from his family birthday party:

Here's Baby Jakey admiring his first birthday cake!

Here's Baby Jakey after he swiftly put out the candle with his fist before we could stop him.
:( Poor Baby Jakey!



Here's Baby Jakey, who quickly recovered by cooling off his hand with a glob of ice cream. That's one way to do it!



Here's Baby Jakey wondering, "Is mommy seriously just going to let me just dig in like this?!!"


Here's Baby Jakey... lovin' it!


Here's Baby Jakey who was so exhausted from all his gluttonous partying that he fell asleep... standing up!

We LOVE you, our Jakey Buddy! You have brought so much joy and love to our family.

Happy 1st Birthday sweet boy!

Snowbabies

This morning was a little hectic. Our surburan broke down on my way to teach my kickboxing class. I was very blessed that I was able to steer it to the gas station before it went kaput, and that I have a wonderful friend who came to rescue us, and that I even made it to my class. I'm also very blessed that Mr. Wonderful is taking care of it as I'm writing this... but it was hectic nonetheless. So this afternoon, to get my mind off the stress of everything, I was thrilled to escape into a winter wonderland with my little snowbabies. Ahh, snow! It's amazing how it brings out the kid in us!

The kids (and I) enjoyed...

The snowflakes falling on our noses and eyelashes,

Sledding,

Making snow angels,

Appreciating the wonder of it (yes, that's my baby boy in a pink snow suit),

and... eating it.
But after a while, they were so done! (I'm not sure if Baby Jakey was crying cause his mommy dressed him in pink, or cause he was freezing cold ;))

So inside we went, to warm our hands by the fireplace...

And drink some hot cocoa (in sippy cups)

And life was good again!

And life was good again!

Squishiness!

"How big is Baby Jakey?... SO BIG!!"

Can I just say I am addicted to cuddling with my chunky birthday boy?! I LOVE chubby babies!! Why is it that babies can get away with love handles and cellulite?? Not quite as cute on adults! Seriously- I just can't get enough of this baby!

Tagged by Ilona

1. Post rules on your Blog
2. Answer the 6 "8" Items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.


8 Favorite TV Shows
I don't watch tv at all. Sometimes I feel pretty out of the loop because I have no clue about all the current shows, but it has been a great decision for our family. So instead, I think I'll write 8 things that I do to unwind instead of watching tv:

Take Bubble baths
Curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book
Practice piano
Blog
Enjoy friends blogs
Scrapbook
Talk and laugh with my hubby
Tidy up around the house (I know that sounds so ridiculous!) but somehow it helps me feel a sense of order to get organized again after the kids go to bed.


8 Things I Did Yesterday:
Taught Turbo Kick at the YMCA (a packed class- because of all the New Years resolutions!)
Dropped Celeste off at kindergarten
Went grocery shopping with 3 little ones... that's always an adventure worth noting!
Prayed for Katie and her family :(
Practiced my solo for Sunday
Followed a healthy eating plan with my hubby (fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains... with one glorious day off every week!)
Organized my church young women notebook
Changed approximately 9 diapers (including nighty-night diapers)


8 Things I Look Forward To:
Date nights with Mr. Wonderful
Getting through the process of moving in one piece... I hope!
Jakey's first birthday this week
Running my first marathon in October with my hubby (that is, if I don't get prego again)
Getting all my kids potty-trained!
Sunday afternoons for our weekly tradition (snack and snooze)
My kids baptism days
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ


8 Favorite Restaurants
Panera!
Tim Hortons
Chipotle
Red Lobster
Smoky Bones
Olive Garden
Boston Market
Mexican Restaurants
(yum... I'm hungry now!)


8 Things on My Wish List
Currently... that the children in Gaza will be able to live without fear. :( That situation is so heartbreaking.
A home in Milwaukee with brand new carpet
Sustained and lasting peace in our home
My family lived closer
I had more time to read
Another baby... someday I hope!
A new dayplanner (hint hint... my b-day is coming up sweets! xoxo)
Yes, I can count. That's only 7... I can't come up with any more.


8 People to Tag
Anyone who wants to do this! I'd love to read and learn more about all of you, my friends.

Happy New Year!

Here's a parenting tip...

Don't wake the kids up at 11:50 pm and expect a fun New Year's bash by midnight! We had a couple groggy complainers on our hands. Next year I'll wake them up a little earlier (or let them stay up) so they'll actually be "awake" for the festivities.

Here's hoping you had a more enthusiastic New Year's Party than we did!

Happy New Year 2009!

Zoo Lights!

We went to the Columbus Zoo Wildlights last week and we loved it!

Here's Baby Jakey all bundled up and ready to go!

AHHH! I despise snakes! We were terrified of this one, until we came across the next one!

THIS is the largest snake in captivity... a 24 foot python named... Fluffy (?) When I was growing up, my dad was a science teacher. So we owned a python named "Monty" and a milk snake named "Julius Squeezer". I'll have to share the story about when Monty escaped and ended up climbing up my parent's BED- giving my mom a near heart attack... but I'll save that one for another post!

Me and my sweet Celeste! I love my big kindergartner!

Ever since we moved to Ohio 4 years ago, we had been wanting to see the zoo lights at Christmas time. But things always got so busy around Christmas that it never happened. So we absolutely had to go this year, since it was our final opportunity before we move. I'm glad we finally took the time. Thanks for the memories Zoo lights!