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!

We hate anti-religion!

I don’t know if you remember the part from the movie “Clue” (Terrific movie!) where the character Mrs. White (hee hee hee, Mrs. White!) says “Flames, Flames… I hated her soooo, much!” Well, that’s about how I’m feeling right now. I’m so flaming mad I could breathe fire, I think!

I just saw a news clip with Bill Maher, about his new movie about religion. Apparently it is mocking religion. I don’t watch or know Bill Maher, and I actually only saw the last 45 seconds as I was channel surfing while using my fabulous elliptical machine. I cannot tell you how disturbed I was!! He actually said that we are the last civilization still clinging to religion and we need to shed it if mankind is to advance! We need to shed religion for Mankind to advance?!! Wow! I mean, Wow! This might not disturb me quite so much (no, not true, it would still have floored me!) but I am reading the final book in the Golden Compass, his Dark Materials trilogy. Yikes.

There was just so much controversy about the book and the movie and I decided to read them.
Yikes again! I might have been okay to just read and be entertained, if I hadn’t gotten all the background and arguments about it beforehand. I admit that I have no respect or love of the Catholic Church, and mainly his books are anti-Catholic, but some of the stuff in them!!! The fact that there are 2 angles that are implied to be gay, that they are “fallen” angels, who were the ones who were cast out of heaven , and yet supposedly had bodies? The fact that he writes that god was merely a higher ranking angel who claimed to have created the world, but didn’t actually, and that he is the reason for sin and unhappiness….. Ug. He has the characters visit the place where the dead go, and its just soulless nothingness, and that’s all god’s fault- he put them there, and they must escape to be released into energy particles to be happy. Religion lied to them about where they would go and it wasn’t true. The “good” people were not sent to heaven, they all went to the same miserable place and god is the reason they are stuck there.

His plot is that the original war in heaven should not have been won by “god”, and it must be refought- which is what they are leading up to right now. I’m half way through the last book right now, and I’m only finishing it because I want to know how it ends. I’m so annoyed that there is no mention of Satan, or Christ. Just that the god is not really god, and is old and fallible. He calls him “The Authority”. And that’s what the church is called too. Atrocities are committed by both and that’s the reason man is unhappy. Oh, and the characters will be tempted again, as Eve. So there must be a new War, and if the “right” side wins this new war, then man will be free and happy. That irritates me. That and the whole idea that religion and god is what is corrupt and evil. Yes, that is really what bothers me the most. He is saying that god and religion is what makes people miserable and enslaved. Does he not know there is a huge difference between God and the religions that represent Him?

Can you tell that this book is getting to me?!! It really is. Dan is getting tired of me making him listen while I read parts that astound me (not in a good way). And I do think that this would not bother me if I had just picked it up to read. (I did like the movie.) But knowing how controversial it was, I apparently am reading it as a personal attack on religion. Ug. And to hear that Bill Maher thinks that religion is silly and something we need to stop clinging to?! Are you kidding me?!

This concludes my venting session today. I will mention that I am profoundly grateful to know the truth about religion, and to have it. I am grateful to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and to know that I have free will and the ability to choose for myself. I love that my church encourages me to go to the source, to ask God Himself if the things I am hearing are true. I love that I can know for myself, and I am glad that I do. I may worry about what is happening to this country, where people think we need to eradicate religion and mock those who believe, but I know who I am, I know that all that is good and right comes from God, and I will never shed my religion.
The end!