Soooo....yeah.

So ya know when you get so behind on something and ya keep thinking, "I'm gonna get caught up, I am". And then more and more time passes and the catch up list starts to get longer and longer and no matter how hard you try or how great your intentions are..it just doesn't seem to make a difference. And then you are so far behind that you just have to give up on the catch up and start fresh from where you're at. Anyone? Anyone?

Well, that's where I'm at. I've had so many thoughts and such great things to post about from our summer and fall and it all just got away from me. So we're just starting fresh and there may be some random 'catch up' posts thrown in there. So if you get a post about Lake Powell or

Jack-o-lanterns thrown in there, just skip it. or whatever.

Lookin' Good!!

We're all still here.

It's just been a crazy busy summer.

We've been busy with some fun projects.

I will post about them soon.

This is what he has looked like most of the summer.

He's an independent soul, this one is.

Hope you're all having fun too.

Perceptions

So I've noticed a lot of blogs that take Sunday pictures before church.
I thought that would be a cute idea to try and record the kids in their finery and have concrete
proof that they didn't look like orphans all of the time. (just most of the time).

Pretty cute huh? (minus the suckers hangin' out)

Yeah. Well, here's the 'perception' part.

What looks like a nice, almost perfect picture of 5 happy, willing children is actually just the best of a bunch of tear inducing, tantrum throwing, frustrating attempts.

People sometimes see only what they want to see.

They only view one of the many pictures without thinking that there may be a whole series of shots that are not so lovely.

Sometimes we're just not ready...

sometimes we just want to run away.

Sometimes we just have no control over the situation.

Sometimes we just get downright grumpy and mean.

Sometimes we simply put on our best pretend smile just to please everyone else.

Once in a while we get that 'great shot'. The shot that we want to show people.

The shot that everyone looks at and says,

"Your life is perfect, your kids are perfect, I wish I could be like that".

I do it all the time.

I need to remember that the perfect shot that I'm looking at

may just be the best out of a bunch of failed attempts.

I think it's perfectly acceptable for us to show each other our 'weak' shots or our 'vulnerable' poses. I think we'd all feel better about things if we knew that occasionally our eyes were closed or we're out of focus.

So on those days when I feel not ready, when I feel like running away, when things are out of control, when I get grumpy and I'm not myself...

I hope I can remember that if I just keep trying...we'll get a good shot.

After all, I have a really loving and patient photographer

who can see the whole picture.

Here's to sharing and accepting the whole photo shoot.

I could totally rock a horse and buggy...

How much does hay cost?

I don't think any of the kids are allergic to horses.

Hmm. I'm gonna look into it.

My mom could beat up your mom!

So a few days ago I witnessed some fierce mama love and protection.

Every Spring we spot some ducks roaming our neighborhood.

They waddle up and down the street like some sort of springtime street gang.

This year it's a mama duck and her twelve (yeah, 12) ducklings.

A few yards down from our house is a storm drain.

You can probably guess what happened next.

I came out to see a very anxious mama duck squaking her little feathers off.

She was standing over the storm drain with one little duckling right by her side.

As we looked down into the drain, we counted the other eleven very dazed babies.

Mama duck was beside herself. Although she didn't know how to help her little ones,

she never left them.

and she never stopped quacking to those ducklings.

Even as more people gathered around, she stayed unusually close to the drain.

My strong neighbors, Rich, Shane and Paul were able to use a crobar and a metal hook to get the storm drain raised and open.

Rich jumped down into the drain and gathered the ducklings up in a net.

All eleven babies were safely returned to a mama ready to get her little brood outa there.

Now I know she's a duck but I couldn't help thinking that she must have been relieved. Ducks have feelings right? I mean, she didn't just say, "hey, I've still got one more, I'll just leave these other one's here in this hole in the ground." She stuck around until they were all safe.

And she was also willing to accept help from others.

She waddled off with all of her twelve waddling behind her.

They were out of danger.
Until she rounded the corner and saw HIM staring at her.

No sooner had she managed to get the littles out of danger than an

even bigger threat shows up.
She had barely had time to recover before she was back in defense mode.

But again, she didn't run away. Instead, she turned to that cat and started giving it the what for. She wasn't about to let those ducklings become a feline feast.

She quacked and quacked until the cat finally turned tail and skedaddled.

Made me realize how important it is to be vigilant as a mother.

It's a 24/7 job that we never take a break from.

We would never leave our children defenseless or alone.

There will always be something lurking around the corner and

our kids are gonna get in some sticky situations.

But they must know that we won't leave them.

They must know that we will ask for help in order to care for them.

They must know that we will fight to protect them.

Not just sometimes, not just in some situations..always.

My children must know that they can call to me and that I will come to them.

They must know that they are the reason I breath.

And I've got a pretty fierce quack so....

Made in...??????

So the other day I'm listening to Lindsay and Makenna have a conversation.

It went like this:

Lindsay: "You are so far behind. You're never gonna catch up."

Makenna: "I know, I know. But it's not my fault. I can't help it, its not a fair game."

I got slightly concerned thinking that I may have to do some intervening on Kenna's behalf. 'What is she so far behind on? and why is Lindsay taunting her about it?'

Me: "What's the contest here?"

They started pointing to things and turning things upside down looking for tags.

Lindsay: "I get a point for everything that's made in China and she gets a point for everything that's made in America."

Uh....okay.

Me: "You guys need to think of a less depressing and fear-inducing contest."

This Old House

Remember when I talked about this house?

Well guess what?

It was left neglected too long and

someone decided it was too far gone and opted to destroy it....

Guess I had better do some laundry before

Greg decides to do something drastic.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has trouble keeping up with the laundry......please...someone.

I have loved the cello for a long time.

I think it's such a beautiful sounding instrument.

My favorite Beatles song is Eleanor Rigby simply

because of that cello solo.

And then there's Coldplay's Viva la Vida

It just has such a rich, deep tone that I feel deep down in my soul.

You can't help but feel it when you hear things like this.

And I love the shape of it. Maybe because that's the shape I see when I look in the mirror.

Whatever the reason, I love the cello.

I was driving in the car the other day listening to one of my favorites

Olivia pipes up from the back seat and says,

"I just love this music. It makes me feel happy."

I smiled and asked her if she knew what instrument was being played.

I could see her little memory working to connect the word to the picture in her mind.

She brightened up and blurted out,

"It's the archidello".

eh, close enough.

So, long post short...

I love the cello.

Olivia makes me laugh.

love this pic.

"Oh Fudge"

So Olivia pulled a "Ralphie" the other day.

She was walking home with the girls and said it..the big one...the one that makes me cringe.
Of course, she didn't know what it meant or that it was even bad. Once she found out that it was the worst bad swear you could say...she was inconsolable..she cried for almost an hour.
I felt bad. But not as bad as as I would have if she had thought it was funny.
It's good to know that you're kids feel remorse when they have done something wrong..even if they didn't know it was wrong.
She's been trying very hard lately to be more agreeable. She is aware immediately after when she has done or said something that she shouldn't.
My hair may stay the same color longer than I thought it would.

Everyone does their year in review in March...right? Better late than never.

What was I thinking?1?

Shopping karma

So it never fails that I pick the wrong line at the store.

Doesn't matter if the lady in front of me has 2 items or 102 items,

I always end up waiting.

It's like some evil witch put a curse on me when I stole a

candy bar at the checkout when I was 7.

(to this day I can't eat a Snicker's without a twinge of guilt)

I will always pick the wrong line to wait in.

This summer as I watched my cute girls pretend to shop at the

children's museum I realized that my horrible curse has been

passed on to my innocent children.

Such a tragedy.

Flip Flops...I miss you.

This is what it looks like every day after school.

I hate winter....so much.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My cute sister Melinda made this video for my dad's birthday and I just had to share it.
He is such an amazing person and I feel so stinkin' lucky to call him Dad.
He has to be one of the most giving, selfless people ever. He has truly been an example to me of 'Love One Another' and 'Do unto others'.
He is special.
And those blue eyes....love it.

http://vimeo.com/18450046

Love you Dad.