Happy Birthday Josh 3 & Isaac 4

Well, another year down and boy has it flown by!  We got Isaac potty trained and into a big boy bed and now we have Josh potty trained and sort of in a big boy bed.


Josh and Isaac have brought so much laughter and joy to our home.  You ask the older kids and they say they have brought a lot of extra noise.

If you ever need a super hero we have spiderman and batman.

They travel together and always have some one to talk to.

They always have a drinking buddy.

They always have someone to do a shaved ice run with.

They do have to share one of their favorite ladies when she come into town.  It can be hard some times being one of their grandmas.    

They always have some one to suck pacifiers with. Hoping that will be ending very soon!

Always have some one to go play outside with.

Always have some one to play the other guys with.

These two are best friends and I am so lucky to be their mom.

Happy Birthday Isaac and Josh

    

Rollerskating!

So to help pass the very long winter break we tried to do as much as we could. One of the fun things we did was go rollerskating!! I love to roller-skate and so does Megan.

Megan wanted to go ice skating put that wouldn't work for the whole family.

We got every one hooked up with their skates and got Josh and Isaac ( after we tried with the skates and it didn't work) with scooters. They were maniacs with the scooters. Josh was a natural and lapped his brother in no time.

As the boys got tired of doing laps we found the games. Their favorite one was this basketball one. We stood them up on the outside so they could reach and they would bend over to wait for the balls to come down. They were every good at it and it kept them busy for a very long time.

For the first time in 12 years Greg and I looked at each other not quite sure what to do with ourselves as all our children were handling themselves on their own. No more toddlers or babies. I am ready to more on to the next phase of life.

Here is Sarah with her good friend Jordan. After a good try of rollerskating they opted for the scooters as well.

Here's Megan with here good friend Kalyssa (Jordan's older sister). They were pros out there!

Here is Isaac giving his all to try the skates. He didn't last long once he saw Josh whizz by him on his scooter.

Thought he was big stuff with his scooter!

"JOY"

Well, a year down, a new year just begun.

What a year it has been. So many wonderful things that have happened and all have been such a blessing to me and my family.

It is always fun to think back on the year and reflect on all the things that have occurred. One thing that comes to mind every time I think of this year is Ben receiving the Priesthood. That has really had a hug impact on all of us. I have seen such a change in Ben. He is more thoughtful, calm, understanding, and caring. I know he know's what a blessing and responsibility it is to have the Priesthood.

There are so many other wonderful things that have blessed my family and me, I could sit and write for hours. But I'm not. I want to take the things that have touched me and help me grow and mature and apply them to my new year.

To start I have taken on a new tradition for myself. I got the idea from a blog I recently stumbled upon just a few months ago. This women, every year, picks a word or a small phrase to use as a theme for her year. It is just for her. So this year I am going to try it myself. I am always up for anything that will help motivate me and try things that will help me to move forward.

So my word for 2011 is, "JOY"

I choose that word because as I reflect upon this past year I tried to think about what I could have done better, or how could I have improved my year. Sad to say I found my self wishing that I could have had more personal joy in my life. Don't get me wrong, I am happy and grateful for what I have, but I needed to "find joy in every journey." There were many times that I caved into stress or peer pressure or let those around me bring my down. I had a conversation with my sister recently and we were talking about how it is so easy to let people and things around us affect our own personal joy. for myself I saw that as a weakness and I didn't like that.

So, here's to myself, I am going to have "Joy" every day and see the "Joy" in all that I do. When I think of the word joy I think of the Conference talk given by Pres. Monson a few years back. He talked about "finding joy in every journey." That is my all time favorite quote. It is true. I am always telling my kids that they are in complete control over their own reactions to everything. I will hear them say " you make me so mad" or " she made me sad" I am always quick to say " you decided how you feel, no one else." Well it is time I listen to myself and stop letting my surrounding affect me.

So here's to 2011 and "JOY"