A little cheer....

Well, it's official. The holidays are upon us.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with some delightful people from our ward, and our kids were in heaven. Xander was asking to sleep at their house and he and Blayne have been asking to go back every day since. I don't blame them because the Hunts are just the coolest people around. I think Zach and I had just as much fun as the kids, if not more. It's always nice to be able to go were people treat you like family. THANK YOU HUNT FAMILY!!!

Now, for those of you who know me, you know I am one of those sticklers when it comes to Christmas music. In my book Christmas music starts on December 1. I mean, there's a reason it's called Christmas music people. However, last year my sister gave me Mindy Gledhill's Christmas album and the kids and I loved it so much that I think it was played every day on a continuous loop from the day we got it, till the end of December. As an added treat one of the main songs Winter Moon  had a bonus video that my friend Jed Wells was involved in making. To say that my kids enjoyed the video would be a major understatement. They adored it and would even get their own puppets and sing along (yes, the video has puppets to add to the entertainment). The hours of entertainment and adorable moments the video provided was priceless, and although it is usually against my will -us being a few days away from Dec. 1st after all- we have begun listening to the cd and watching the video and will probably do so all month long. I love this time of year and love the spirit that Christmas music brings. I guess it might be beneficial to listen to it all year long to always feel that spirit, but let's not push it folks. A few days early is all I'm ready to do for now.

Sneaky...

I got on the computer this morning and discovered that....

 we either have poltergeists living with us, or two sneaky little boys getting up in the middle of the night to take endless pictures of themselves on our computer. (*Seriously, I found about 60 different pictures of them with all sorts of backgrounds*)

It never ceases to amaze me just how bright and clever little ones are. We've never really been able to truly baby proof our homes because Xander has always managed to figure out all the different baby proof contraptions within a day. When we bought our new fridge I was thrilled that the ice/water/control panel had a button to lock everything, then not so thrilled after Xander figured it out and taught Blayne how to work it in less than 40 minutes. Let's not even mention how intelligent they are when it comes to our computer, because every time I think about it I cry a little inside with the realization that it's likely they already know more about how to use it than I do. Zach and I  really can't spell out words to each other while talking because Blayne immediately tells us what word we're spelling.
 "What do you think, should we give them some C-A-N-D-Y?"
"Ohh! Candy?!? Yes! I would love some!"

And little miss Kendell? Yeah, she's much too smart for my own good as well. She definitely has already figured out that one little cheesy grin, shy little smile, or sad little cry face to daddy will get her anything she wants. Yep, she's already got him under her spell, oh the teenage years should be fun.

Although their clever little minds cause me worry (and sometimes frustration) I feel so blessed to have such wonderful, brilliant, loving children to love, teach, and more often than not... learn from.

I LOVE YOU, MY LITTLE NUGGETS!!!!

Way... too... FAST!!

At the end of lunch the other day Baby Girl told me she was "all done". I was so shocked I asked "Where did your lunch go?" She again said "all done". Still in disbelief that she was saying those words I asked a third time, in response... she looked at me with a look that said 'Seriously lady? Are you really not getting this?' then said it a third time while signing it as well (apparently she figured saying it in two languages might help me comprehend things). Thankfully she appeased me once again as I giddily called Zach to have him hear that our Baby Girl is slowly becoming a Big Girl.

Roller coaster....

Yeah, yeah... I know. It's been forever since my last post. Basically our life has been a little like the picture above.

                                 ONE BIG ROLLER COASTER RIDE. 

Don't get me wrong, we've had more ups than downs and we're thoroughly enjoying ourselves but the stop was a little jerky and we're feeling slightly sick to our stomaches (Literally.)
As soon as things settle down I promise to get back on my game and maybe even show you some fun pictures of the new digs! *We're all unpacked I just want to give it a good cleaning before taking photographic evidence.*

In case you were wondering...
yes, I did realize that my boy's eyes look slightly creepy in this picture but I left it like that to represent the way society can leave us feeling slightly dazed, disoriented, and even inhuman. (That reasoning sounds better than 'I'm computer illiterate' right?)

Father's Day

Zach and I were both blessed to have some pretty great dad's of our own, who truly bless our lives. Thankfully my children are lucky to have that same blessing in their lives since they have Zach as their dad.

Zach is funny, creative, loving, hard working, and really good at "bringing home the bacon"!

The kids absolutely ADORE him and love every minute they get to spend with him.

He's also a wonderful example,

and has really cool friends (*mainly me*).

So when it came time to get ready to celebrate this special guy I decided to read the kids this book that explains Father's Day and what it's all about. In one part of the book they talked about stepdads and the fact that some children have no dad. Blayne stopped me mid-sentence and asked...
 "Mommy, what a stepdad?".
 I responded with...
 "Well, if Mommy and Daddy were no longer married and Mommy married another man he would be called your stepdad."
I guess I should have made the explanation more broad than personal because Blayne took it a little hard. He began crying and pleading with me "Please Mommy! Don't marry another Daddy! We love our Daddy!"
Xander then jumped in and said "Blayne, she wouldn't do that. Our Daddy is the best Daddy ever."
I quickly agreed with Xander and reassured Blayne that I loved Daddy and we would always be together.
Then later that day, while at the store, we ran into some people from the ward and as we were talking she asked the boys if they were excited for Father's day. Xander replied "Yes because my mommy is still married to my daddy." Worried at the confusion that statement might cause I quickly explained the stepdad issue that arose earlier that day and we had quite a good laugh.
The next day we had our good friends the McMurrys over for dinner and Xander asked if he could say the prayer. Mid-prayer Xander made this statement....
"And please bless that this family won't break apart."
Needless to say, when the prayer concluded the looks on our friend's faces were a mix of confusion and mild worry. I once again explained the stepdad fiasco from the day before, we all had a good laugh, and I'm sure our friends were relieved to realize that they weren't invited over to hear some horrible news.
We are so grateful for "the BEST daddy ever" and LOVE HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS!

LOVE YOU DADDY!!! Thanks for all you do for us and for blessing our lives.

All our love,
Mommy and the nuggets

Look who's 1!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KENDELL!!

*Or... Snyom Roshdyenye KGB*

From the first day we saw you, we knew we would absolutely LOVE you!

You fit perfectly into our little pod,

* I think she was jealous that Blayne's going to be a Flamenco Dancer*

and it's quite obvious that your brothers just adore you!

You bring so much joy, happiness, and fun into our lives and have made us quite the happy family! Thanks for being a part of our lives and for always keeping us on our toes! *You are a super fast crawler!*

We love you with all our hearts, and are so lucky to be your Mommy and Daddy!   Love, "Muma" and "Dada"

In memory of a "GREAT" Grandma

My Grandma was a wonderful, loving woman who always created special memories with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Growing up with Grandma Kendell meant love pats, treat bags at birthdays ( I.E: She would give each grandchild a treat bag with money and candy at every birthday party so no one would feel bad that it wasn't their birthday. Needless to say... we all loved when it was not just our birthday but each other's birthday as well.), but most importantly...

It meant the goodnight lullaby of "A Bushel and a Peck".
She may not have sung, or even have known all the correct words, but the added humming and extra "Doodle oodle doos" just made it that more special.

The other night as I was getting the kids ready for bed I was tickling them and telling them how much I loved them *in sing-song voice, I'll admit it* when suddenly Blayne started to sing "A Bushel and a Peck". I was a little shocked considering that I had really only sung the song a few times here and there, and had never thought they had even heard me or were listening.

As I sat listening to his sweet version of the song I couldn't help but think of my Grandma and how happy it would make her to hear his version of her goodnight song. When he finished I took the time to tell the kids how much I loved the song and why. I told them of special sleepovers at my grandparents house and how each night before bed my Grandma would read me stories and sing me that song. I told them that every time I hear the song it reminds me of special times with my Grandma and makes me happy. But most importantly it reminds me of the selfless love of my Grandmother. She was a kind, and thoughtful woman who was always on her feet trying to do something for someone else. When I finished Xander asked me if she was "one of the old Nanas who died" and "who's mommy was she".   I explained that she was one of the Nanas who was in heaven and that she was Papa Kendell's mommy. His reply was "Oh, I bet he misses his mommy. I think he loved her." I assured him that he did and thanked him for being so thoughtful.
Then this afternoon when I was getting them ready for their naps Blayne brought me the video camera and said "Can we sing the song for Papa?" Xander jumped in with "Ooh! That a great idea Blayne! Then he can listen to it and think of his Mommy!"

 So Papa (and everyone else in the family) this song is for you....

Grandma Kendell, this one is for you......

Love you Grandma, thanks for all the wonderful memories.