TOFW

I was going to sit down and critique my Time out for Women experience, but I've pretty much got it all out of my system! I typed up half my notes, but Dan and I are speaking in church next week and I had to work on that for a bit, and I had to write my weekly letter, and I'm actually tired of sitting at this computer!

So, the short-short version is this: Don't like Philadelphia, Loved TOFW, city traffic sucks, friends make the time go faster

And I will share one little thing with you. Last time I went to a TOFW, I was all alone- didn't know a single other person there. Yesterday, I went with my friend Andrea and it was so nice. As I was sitting there with 2,000 other women, I asked Heavenly Father, if there was anyone else in the room I knew, could I please run into them. I know, silly thing. And yet.... I saw my friend Sasha, who I haven't keept in touch with. (She looks great, by the way!) Also, at lunch, the lady I sat next to turned out to be the sister-in-law of my friend Lonie, and I'd been hearing about this woman for weeks! I know, small, silly thing to be excited about, but I was!

That's all the enthusiasm I can drum up right now. Perhaps I'll get motivated and post again later. If you have any interest in my notes from Time Out for Women, let me know and I'll post them. It really had some amazing stuff!

Ready for School!

We were all ready for school at 8:22 this morning. Since they were so cute and matching today. I took their pictures. I will mention that I only picked out Delaney and Callie's clothes. Joshua and Marian got dressed on their own, and I don't know how all 4 of them ended up matching!

Yeah, they weren't that thrilled about pictures. But they were pretty cooperative. Mostly because I let them do silly shots.

Silly shots like this one! They are such funny kids and they make me laugh.

And how could this face not make you smile. I love these guys! And they had a great day at school. Just in case you were wondering!

School Daze

Why is it that last year, Joshua could roll out of bed at 7am and get on the bus at 7:15, all dressed, breakfasted and ready? This year, we get up between 7 and 7:30 and by the time we race out the door at 8:29, I've been rushing non stop! Ug.

Actually, I guess I DO know why it takes so long to get ready. Last year I only had to get one ready and Dan did it a lot of the time! This year its all me and I have to get everyone ready! 1 kid vs 4.... I guess its okay to take 4 times as long. And I can't very well walk down to the bus stop in my jammies. We sure were spoiled with a bus that picked him up right in front of the house in NC.

And while I'm on this topic, let me tell you about this afternoon. It was 3:40 and Delaney had just awakened and she was saturated through her pants. I didn't have time to change her, so I simply took off her pants. Since I didn't have time, I parked Callie in front of the tv to watch "Super Why" and told her not to let Delaney out while I went to the bus stop.

I walked down the 3 houses to the corner and waited. Then I heard giggling. I look down the road and here is Callie, racing toward me, with no shoes on. I look behind her and see Delaney scooting along on her little trike.... right down the middle of the road. Then I see the bus coming right behind her. AAACK! And did I mention that Delaney is wearing a shirt and a very wet diaper and socks, no pants? A red letter moment for me, as I bolted down the street to remove her from the path of the school bus.

Why I love being a mom!

I love that Marian makes me laugh as she gives herself a soap beard in the bath tub.

I love how much fun Delaney is having on her trike, feeling so independent and just like the big kids. And I especially love the pizza she's sporting all over her face!


I love that my kids are adventerous and ready to try new things. I love how much fun they are having climbing this tree. they are pretty high, too. Can you see the house behind them?!

I love that Joshua is so social and friendly. He's trying his friend Usman's skateboard here.

I love the creativity I get to see every day. Callie had a blast with the sidewalk chalk and it was so fun to see what she drew!

Well, I'm not so thrilled about the chalk IN her mouth, but I love that she is having such a good time! Just looking at this picture makes me smile. Looking at my children makes me smile. It makes me happy. They are so cute and funny and interesting and fantastic! That's why I love being a mom. Plus, who wants to go to a job all day?! Not me! I love my work as a mom!

Fun with Hats

I have been going through all the pictures, scrapbooking them into a book. I really enjoy doing that and I love going through old (okay, 3 months ago!) pictures. I love having the memories. One set of pictures I went through were these!

The kids had found Grandma and Grandpa's collection of hats. They thought they were pretty cool and a lot of fun. They spent the afternoon trying on different ones. then they asked me to take pictures. Joshua especially wanted to have a different hat and a different expression in each picture.

Classic Joshua pose, and a rare unposed Marian. I love these kids!

Callie and Delaney want to be just like their older siblings. Callie has a sweet tender heart and tries hard to include Delaney too. As I may have mentioned, I love these kids!

When they are silly it cracks me up! Look how her whole face is alight with mischief. That's my girl!

Ah, now Marian is posing. She had a blast with the hats. I did not include the 10 other shots of Joshua making horrible faces for me. Maybe some other time!