I know it has been ages since I have been blogging. Life like to trick us into thinking we are always too busy. :) I have spent as little time possible on the Internet these days and more time playing with my kids. I have really seen a difference in them, but to be honest I miss my alone time. I am going to try and get back to my journals...or blogging.

This is our Christmas picture in front of the new house. More to come.

Ooohhh become like little children

My little family has been though a crazy few months lately...and it is not over yet. I have been....let's just say I have been complaining just a bit about it all. I have been so focused on the injustice and burden it all is that I have lost sight of the bigger picture.

Well thank heavens for children.

At a particularly low time for me my 7 yr old put me in check. We knelt down for family prayer, Katie said it, she basically just thanked the Lord for everything. I mean all of the things we DO have going for us.

She thanked Him that we had a place to stay, that they had cool air mattresses to sleep on. She was grateful that Daddy has a job that makes money for us to get toys, and that our family was all healthy.

My eyes were full of tears when she finished. What a humbling moment it was for this whiny Mommy who is only seeing all of the negative. I understand now why we are told in the scriptures to become like a little child. They are pure and see the world in it's purity. So I am also grateful for the things I do have.

I would list them but really there are a lot.

GRRRRR

Sometimes being a good friend means you have to hurt people you love. Not in any mean way ever, but truth can be very good. I get taken advantage of sometimes. It isn't easy to do to me, but it happens. I want to help and I am really trying to be a better person. That doesn't mean that I have time for selfishness of others. I am not a beckon call girl. That is all I am going to say on that. I just want things to slow down a bit so I can get back to enjoying the things that I love most.....my family.

My lullaby

Years ago I have a really good friend who wrote a song for me. Funny thing is that I still sing this song to my kids as a lullaby. I have changed some of the words tough. Well this friend recently got a hold of me and we were talking about the song. When he found out I still sing it he wanted to know how I changed the words to make it for my kids. So Erik this is for you. lol

If I knew of a way to capture you smile,
You would never see me down again.
If I knew what to say to keep you mine
You would hear those words time and again.

You are the day and the night to me
You are my sunshine and my moonlight
You fill my days with a tender melody
And you bring peace to my nights.

This lullaby was meant from me to you,
Can you see the love in my eyes.
Remember this love will never end
So there's no need for you to cry.

All of the flowers they bloom because of you
Your name on every petal
But those same flowers, they pale in you
My love will outlast them all.

I wrote this little song just for you
I hope you know every word is true
Please remember me when your grown
Cause I'll remember you.

I wrote this simple song just for you
These feelings I have for you not new
You make me laugh you make me cry
When I'm not with you I wonder why

But now you're here right in my arms
I wish it could last forever.

Auntie Missy vist

Sand Baby

A few weeks ago we went out to Westport to play at the beach. Well it is Washington so it was cloudy and cold. The kids didn't seem to mind a bit though. Here is Benny enjoying the sand. He pooped it out for a few days. lol

More is coming.

I have been up to my eyeballs in things to do. I have so much I want to post but with my computer on the fritz and trying to find a house in 4 weeks I am not thinking about blogging to much. :) I will be back on track by September. I just gotta' make it through August.

Fathers day

Late on the post but here is some Fathers day pics. Isaac made Bryan a snake out of clay. It was hilarious cause he was sooooo excited for Bryan to open it that he opened the gift himself. The kids thought is was the coolest joke ever to give Daddy a snake.

Katie drew a picture of Bryan. I totally love this.

Thanks Melissa.

Thanks to Melissa Sabin for having a birthday and giving us an excuse to go out. Sometimes it is nice to go out one on one with a good friend. We went and had a pedicure. I have only had one other pedicure in my life and that was before my wedding, so this was a fun treat. Don't our feet look pretty. lol

I think I like the picture of my feet better. lol It was such a stress free fun night. Thanks Melissa.

Wade's Funeral

We went to Spokane last weekend to see some family. My Uncle Wade passed away and so my Uncle Kevin, standing behind me, had a little party in honor of Wade. It was so awesome to see some of my family. My parents, older sister Jenni and youngest brother Andrew came out to meet us there. Man I really miss being around my family. It is always so much fun.

Amy Chruch and Bryan Thulin

Bryan and I met our freshman year of High school in 1989 in Southern California.
We were good buddies but he moved away only after living there for one year. We kept in touch by snail-mail AKA regular mail. lol



Our first official date was Kent Meridian Senior Prom. Bryan flew me up from California to go to prom with him. It was then in 1993 that we had our first kiss. Actually it was in the Scenic Hill grave yard. I know how romantic...NOT.

After graduation Bryan served a mission in San Bernadino, Ca which was right next to the area I lived. However I was at Dixie College in St. George Utah during this time. I did go visit him in Washington after he had gotten home from his mission.



Shortly after this, in the winter of 1996, I left on my mission to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Bryan came down to California for my farewell, well back when they did them still. :) He then went up to attend BYU. He stopped by the Square only a few times. We never really dated seriously or anything so it wasn't weird to see him. He usually came with other people too.

In the winter of 1998 I went up to spend Thank-mas with his family. This is Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. It was a little awkward. lol
We were not really even dating and his Mom insisted that I be a part of their family photos. On the back of this photo his Mom wrote, "You look like you belong in this picture." Maybe she knew something that Bryan and I didn't.



About a year later I decided to move up to Utah to date him. This was in the Spring of 1999. We had barley stated to date when his parents decided to use us to help them do family sealing. They came down to do them in the Manti Temple, which is were they were married. Oh and did I mention it was their anniversary. Boy was that uncomfortable. I was just starting to date this guy and the next thing I knew I was kneeling over an alter with his parents. Of course it was in proxy for a parent child sealing but awkward!



Well something worked because we got pretty serious after that. I don't think we were ever separated unless it was absolutely necessary. Bryan just made me laugh...all the time. He was such a dork, but so stinkin' hot.

We had a family picture in which my Mom insisted that Bryan be a part of. Our Mothers had allot of faith in our relationship working out I guess.
In August of 1999 we took a trip to California so Bryan could ask permission from my Dad to marry me.



We were married on June 9,2000. Our wedding was so much fun. I love that it was a foreshadow of the kind of life I was going to have.





I have to say that not only is he still just as much fun as ever, but he still gives me butterflies when I see him. I mean come on the guy is pretty dang hot.


I am so happy that I chose him. We are still buddies and have so much fun together. Happy 9 years Bry. I still love ya tons.

Playing with Oscar

Saturday we got to play with our cousin Oscar. The kids always have so much fun with him. We were all cracking up here cause he was so determined to push Katie in the little car. He didn't know she was helping him with her feet. lol

I love how well He and McKenzie get along. These two were playing quietly for about an hour. When Kristi and I went in to see what they were doing we found this. They had totally emptied the toy drawers and covered Kennie's legs. Too stinkin' cute.

Makes me smile.

I was watching my little family as I sat in church today. I realized that I am a very lucky person. Regardless of what anyone else can see I see happiness. I didn't know that I could be this happy and content in my life. The pains and sorrows that I feel are mostly because of the suffering and afflictions of those around me. I have so many people that I truly love and care about who are suffering in one way or another. It is so difficult sometimes to know that there is little I can do to help them. I guess just listening would be good, but I am not good at that. I have a hard time shutting up and just listening. Thanks to my sister for reminding me to stop trying to solve her problems and just be a shoulder to cry on. :)
So here I am with my adorable family and close to perfect husband. I am a spoiled little brat huh. We have a home, and we have a stable source of income, our children are healthy, and our marriage is pure and strong. Sometimes I almost feel guilty at how many blessings I have. I wonder why I deserve all of this when so many others struggle? I understand that where much is given much is required, but it just feels like there is always more I could do.
How grateful I am that I have such blessings and the opportunity to try and help others. I hope this post doesn't seem like I am boasting or I think I'm all that or anything. I simply feel overwhelmed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for my life. If anything...it is teaching me to be more compassionate to those around me.

Can you save a blog?

Does anybody know if there is a way to download your blog, or even a way to save it to a disk or something? I blog for a journal and I don't want to loose all of this.

Do it yourself.

Isaac has been bugging me all day to do "letters" with him. I try to work on his pre-kindergarten learning during the two younger kids name time. Well I told him I had a few things to do first and that we would have to wait until Ben went down for a nap. Isaac apparently felt this task needed to be rushed. So he cuddled Ben and put him down for me. Love this kid.

GROSS!!!

So, yesterday at the park my Mckenzie came up to me and said "look mommy I got gum." I asked her who gave it to her and she shrugged her shoulders and said "I did." So I then asked WHERE did you get the gum and she took my hand to show me. We walked under the slide and she points to a pile of A.B.C gum and says "you want some?" After puking a little bit in my mouth I made her spit it out an tried to tell her why it was gross. Man I hope she learns this one. ewwweweww yuck!

Mommy's Day photos

Yep, this is what it is all about. Mother's Day was awesome!!! I noticed that I have very few pictures of me with the kids. Mainly because I am the one taking the pics. :)

My little Kenzie calls this day Mommy's Day. I like it because I think that it is so important to be both a Mother and a Mommy. To me the difference is that a Mother is the one to nurture, guide, teach and disciplined the children. The Mommy gets on the floor and plays with the kids, she also gets dirty, does crafts, and is at times goofy just to make them laugh. I hope to find a perfect balance of the two Moms, so to speak.

The family did make me breakfast in bed though. I actually woke to the smoke alarms going off. When they brought the food in they, including Bryan, looked so pleased with themselves. I think I had eggs, and hash browns...pretty sure there was sausage and toast. I did see three strawberries but they were consumed by the kids before I even had a chance to smell them. It was so stinkin' funny cause I sat there with 3 little vultures waiting to consume what ever I didn't. lol One kid would say "hmm are you gonna eat that egg?" or "I sure wish I had some sausage." I think I had about two bites of each thing before I ended up giving it to the kids. They had all already eaten breakfast mind you.

We also celebrated my upcoming birthday on Mother's Day. I know I got the sort of got the shaft there but it was totally worth it. Bryan, his parents and a close family friend all pitched in to get me a new couch set. My old couch was a hand me down and pretty disgusting. I will have to post pics of the new couches soon. I am just so excited. I have never had new couches before. We have always had hand me downs or thrift store couches. I just feel so grateful for such a fun surprise. Now I don't have to be embarrassed when we have company over. :)

Daddy loves this part.

This morning all the babies were crawling all over me and Bryan. This is a ritual of sorts for us on Saturdays. Bryan looked over at me and through a small hole in the middle of little bodies says "this is my favorite". So like any other blog mom I ran to get the camera. It is moments like these that I am so lovin' the blog thing. :)

Is it me or her?

So Bryan went to Oregon for business yesterday. He will be gone until Thursday, and I think the kids have decided to protest. First last night I couldn't find the wipes. I searched all over the house. I asked Kenzie if she knew where they were and she said in the car. I went out to my car and no wipes. Well then Katie was all distressed because she had left a stuffed animal outside. When I went out back to look for it I found the EMPTY box of wipes. They were indeed in the car. Thanks Kenz...

Then Benny was up AAAAALLLLLLL night just screaming. I still don't know what the deal is. He is just plain pissed off. I am guessing it is teething. Poor little guy he is so sad.

This morning I swear I only went in to get dressed. I wasn't on the phone or the computer. I went into my room for like 5 minutes and when I came out this is what I found.

She doesn't seem a tad bit sorry does she, ha ha ha. At least her brother has a solution. Yep...eat it off the ground. Well they are cute so I'll let them live. I'm off to Walmart for more cereal. :)

Mommy has a helper

So most mornings are pretty busy and crazy. I feed the kids and get Katie to go to school about the same time. While I was getting Katie out the door McKenzie decided to take over my duties for me. So like any other blog crazy mom I grabbed the camera. Here is my 2yr old feeding my 7 mth old. ha ha ha

Oh Mckenzie....!!!!

When your 2yr old disappears and gets really quiet...find them quickly. You'd think I'd know this by now, I mean it is my 3rd time going through this stage. Kenzie went missing... I followed the signs of the little monster. One was that one of my drawers in my dresser had been emptied out. Next was the medicine box was trashed. Now before you judge me to harshly for leaving medicine sitting out let me explain. Isaac had just cut his knee and I rushed in, grabbed the box from the top of the closet, rummaged through it for band aides and ointment. I ran back into the other room to stop Isaac's bleeding knee. That's when she decided to strike. Kenzie had gone through the first aid box and not only taken out all of the band aides, but taken the paper off and stuck them on the carpet.

I finally found her hiding in my closet eating the cough drops. Scary huh! At least is was only cough drops and not Advil or something. Crazy kid...I swear the other kids didn't do this. Or maybe I just paid more attention to what they were doing. I really would like a giant hamster ball for each of my children. Then they wouldn't make messes or get into things..... actually they'd just put huge holes in the walls. I am so looking forward to having grand kids....oh the wonderful Ideas I am going to give them. Whoa ha ha ha

Baby talk is my favorite!!!!

Fat lip.

If you can see the little cut on his cheek there. He has another one inside his upper lip. He'll be fine, but a word from the wise...7 month olds can't stand on their own. lol

Good one Mommy

Missy and her cute baby, Brody, have been up visiting for a while now. We have been spending all the time we can possibly find with them. The kids just adore him, and I think Isaac has a secret crush on Missy. Who can blame him.

When ever Brody is around Isaac and Katie are all over the kid. They giggle and laugh at his little noises and farcical expressions. We are all just so in love with him. Well Sunday we all went up for his blessing in church. Afterwards we went to the Grandparents for family get together and photos of course. It was nap time and the kiddos were all Hungary so photos were a bit tough. In all the craziness I picked up Kenzie in one arm and Benny in the other arm and headed down stairs to get them changed. I put both kids on their feet so they could stand and get dressed. Do you see my mistake? I put them on their FEET TO STAND. BENNY CAN"T STAND. So he face planted into the couch and split his lip. Kenzie was crying cause of all the commotion, and I didn't' realize Benny was bleeding. It was all over my church clothes and I only fit into a small number of shirts these days. lol. Poor Benny and his bloody lip. If that isn't bad enough he has already been sick. Last night he was up all night throwing up and with the runs. Then Mommy drops him on his face. Good job Mommy. ha ha ha It's a really good thing babies forget all this stuff we do wrong.

So in memory of him prior to the fat lip, here's a picture of the cute litle guy. Remember that 7 month old babies don't usually have the ability to stand.

Duh... Mommy!!

I'll get pictures of his lip in the morning. I didn't have the heart to take pictures yet.

Ok... I'm over it.

Sorry about the drama earlier. I'm a bit hormonal. lol Thanks for all the kind words and for not being judgemental. We all have those days where we wake up and say "this is my life?" Then realize we like it this way. Love you all.

Mommy blues

I don't like to be chubby. I know, I know what you are thinking "then do something about it" I get that. You see before I had children I would wake up at about 7:30am and go for a jog with my pooch. It was sunny and nice outside and I would just run and think. Now I get maybe 4 hours of sleep at night, I am up with sleepy eyes at about the same time 7:30am, but it is a whole new world. I wake up to either a crying baby or a 4 yr old boy begging to play the WII. Then I wake up Katie and fight her about getting ready for school. Then I make 3 bowls of cereal, open one can of baby food and feed the masses. Next I rush to make Katies lunch, cause I always forget to do it the night before, and listen to her cry while I attempt to brush her hair. Hair brushing isn't a Chinese torture treatment, but man you would thing so by the way she acts. Finally she is off to school, LOVE CARPOOLS!!!!
Then it's back to the kitchen to clean up all of the spilled cereal and milk. Usually by this time Ben, the baby, has decided that he must be attached to my hip. So now I attempt to do dishes with one hand. I usually give up and go get the kids dressed, there is usually a few phone calls to answer in there. I have to admit that these calls from friends help me to NOT beat the children sometimes. So their lives are owed to you. lol
Now usually I take a few minutes and let everything go and jump on facebook or blog. During this time there is usually a few fights and a crying baby. Now it's like 10:00and I haven't eaten breakfast and I am still in my PJ's.
I'm sure that there are a million and one things I am doing wrong, and everyone has advice to how to make changes. But reality is I just don't have it in me to get up at 5:30am to workout, especially when I am usually up at about 3:30 to feed Ben. I have tried the workout at night thing...by about 4:00pm I am soooo tired that the idea of the treadmill just bugs me. The only thing I really do these days is WII fit, which I love cause I can play it with Isaac in the mornings.
So I am chubby, I am a bit lazy maybe and I am defiantly unmotivated. I am not really looking for advice, cause let's face it I probably won't take it. I knew being a Mommy was going to be a challenge. I knew that I would not be skinny forever, and I also know that it is ok to feel crappy once and a while. So what is my silver lining? What is my goal to work toward?
My kids won't be little like this forever. They are growing up so fast and I don't want to miss any of it. I spend a lot of time just playing with my kids. I am doing a little bit of exercise and I do eat a lot healthier. So maybe now is my time and season to bond with my babies. It is hard to have little ones. Sometimes it feels like they suck the life out of me. But really they are my life right now. Maybe I can focus more on how much fun I do have with them. I can worry about getting fit when they are in school and I am looking for things to do during the day. Actually that makes me feel a lot better. :) I just need to take it slow and be ok with taking it slow. Do what I can for now and decide to be happy.

Look what I can do!

This is Daddy's little trick. He does this with all of the kids at this age. I just love it, and so do the babies.

At it Again.

So either she is just really slick or I am a bad mom. Ummm don't answer that question though. McKenzie, McKenzie, McKenzie... I WAS MAKING DINNER!!!! I guess I wasn't fast enough. She snuck in, grabbed the rice crispys oops I mean crispy rice, and made her own little snack. She could have at least opened the box on the right side. Now it is opened at both ends. Lucky for her she is stinkin' cute.

"Don't worry about me Mom I've already got it covered."

Just Keeps gettin' Better

Wednesday is Bryan's birthday. I was looking through some old photos of us and realized that I am still just totally in love with this guy. What is even more fun is that I genuinely like him as a person. I mean that I enjoy his company and feel that he is my favorite person to hang out with. Dorky as is sounds he really is my best friend. I guess I am just feeling grateful for him lately.
So happy birthday Big-B.



He still gives me butterflies.

Boys

So Isaac was playing a video game and I heard Ben giggling and making all sorts of noise. When I went in to check on them I saw that he too was "playing" the game. I asked Isaac what he was doing and he said "Benny was board just sitting here so I gave him a bamote (remote)" Oddly enough Isaac was right... Benny just wanted to play too.


At leat they are playing together. :)

Glad I'm not the only one.

Ok so I was talking to my Sister this morning and the funniest thing happened to her. Due to a distraction (me) she locked her keys in her car. She called AAA to get someone out to unlock her door for her and when they were in the process of this fun task she noticed that BOTH of her back doors were indeed unlocked. I sure hope that AAA guy was hot cause she paid for that service. ha ha ha
I have totally done stuff like that. I am just glad I got to laugh at her for it.

Attack of the Lizard

Ben has a favorite stuffed animal that he sleeps with. I like it too because Lizards are my favorite animals. Well yesterday he fell asleep playing with it and I found him like this. Well I thought it was cute.

McKenzie will wear her underpants for short moments now. This video was just so cute cause she was dancing with joy for the princess undies. lol

McKenzie's Death Wish

So last night I almost killed one of my kids. My 2 yr old has decided she doesn't want to wear diapers anymore. I know what you're thinking...potty train. No, you see she doesn't want to wear clothes either. She enjoys the natural look if you know what I mean. Last night she took off THREE POOPY diapers. I cleaned the kitchen, hall way and bathroom floor. Not to mention the 3 baths I have to give her because of the poop smeared all over her naked body. Lovely. Well at bedtime she did it again and Mommy snapped. I yelled, screamed, and spanked. I looked her in her adorable little face and said "do not take off you diaper again...do you understand." She looked at me with her big brown eyes and said "note" which is Kenzie for nope. I had to take a deep breath and then walk her to the poop on the new carpet, pointed at it and said "yucky" she agreed. Then made her clean up the mess. In my own head I was sure this wouldn't happen again.
This morning I walk into her room and found a naked baby. I could smell the poop, but she had covered it up so well with the books she pulled from the bookshelf, the clothes she pulled from the drawer and the barbies, which she was now distracted with and enjoying. Needless to say I just cried...then laughed...then took another deep breath and began the clean up. One day I will be able to tell her this story when her kids are doing it. That will be sweet.

Ski trip with Daddy

Bryan took the kids skiing for the first time. This is Katie.

Here is Isaac.


And here are my kids playing buy a dumpster. Nice Daddy!