A Whilrwind Weekend

I think I mentioned before going to Utah. My 3 nieces and one nephew were in the play 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown' and my mom, sister and I were able to flew up for a quick weekend to see it. Wow! Just typing the title brings some of the songs back to my mind!!! The play was just incredible. Amazing!!! I really hope next year I can come again! Besides being wowwed by these incredibly talented kiddos, we had a great time just playing together. My b-i-l took care of meal planning, cooking, and most of the cleaning, so we just got to PLAY!!!

This is my sweet Cosette who is coming next week to stay with us - until she is ready to go home! These are my sweet kiddos...with two of their friends. Oh...I miss Utah...

We are family...

Playing outside in between shows. This is where I learned that snowboarding is probably NOT my sport...

We were trying to decide what to do to stay busy. Since everyone wanted to do different things, we each wrote our ideas on a piece of paper. Each activity drawn would be enjoyed by ALL of us - for 30 minutes! First was Anderson Park! Below is Peppermint Patty (aka - Addy) with her fierce Duncan!

Then we watched Bronwyn's movie - Sleeping Beauty? I can't remember!!! (I quite enjoyed my weekend doing four things - eating, reading, playing games, or sleeping.)

My pick was next - playing games, but we only got to enjoy that for 10 minutes because it was time for the star performers to get ready again! We finished off the night at the Purple Turtle - care of Grandpa who wasn't able to make the trip with us...

Sorry, Nan. I had to post this..too many memories! We played a super fun game called Curses. "Get your hands off me lucky charms!" I have not laughed that hard in a LONG time!!!

Thanks sweet kiddos; I loved coming to visit you!!!

Massively Overwhelmed...

Enjoy these pictures (and the posts to come) because this is most of our lives for the last few weeks! Dad was home tonight to help with bedtime (which makes the evening go SOOO much smoother!) and he got to snuggle Emily! This cute little girl things the pack and play is for her AND the blue baby...

These are my little towel monsters. I've found it's easier to just get them all out of the tub as the same time, then worry about getting pajamas on everyone.

Waste of Energy

This might be a little rambling, but now you can see how my thoughts work (and why my husband doesn't always follow my stories...).

Today I went to the mall...for the first time in how many years? At least two. Yuck! I hate shopping, but today was fun shopping. Unfortunately (or so I thought), I had my three little buddies with me because I opted to go to my kick-butt gym class instead of the mall this morning with just two little buddies. Why 3, well that's a side note (Got a call ((during my kick-butt gym class)) from the school nurse saying Ben had a stomach ache. Called them back; he'd been down to the nurses twice. I talked to him; he didn't sound sick. She thought he could try going back to class but just wanted to let me know. Emily had been asleep for about an hour when she called again saying his teacher said Ben needed to go home because he kept complaining. I called a friend who came over and sat with Sleeping Beauty eerrr...Emily, so I could go get Ben. I went into the nurse's office and there was Ben sitting on the cot - covered in sweat. The nurse said he'd just gotten back from recess...hmmm. On the way out to the car, I said, "What's wrong, Buddy?" He opened his mouth and pointed inside and said his tooth hurt. I kind of looked at him funny. "I thought you had a stomach ache?" He hit the top of his head and said, "Oh, yeah! That's right!" He is obviously not very sick as evidenced when he got home and just wanted to eat and play...).

So - the mall actually went great! We went through 4 stores and past the foodcourt TWICE without any whining, begging, yelling, or even asking for food!!! It really was amazing!

The point of my post comes from the ride home. There is a very short 'point of conflict' (or something like that - can't remember the actual name, but it's when people are getting on and off the highway) to go home from the mall. I was trying to get over and was slowing down considerably for the little car next to me to get over (remember short 'point of conflict'). It would have been okay, but he kept slowing down too. Finally, I thought, "this is ridiculous!" and just went fast. He cut over and flipped me off! What a punk! So, that leads to my thought of, "Fine, if he wants to waste energy being mad at me, that's his choice!"

That lead me to thinking about what a waste of energy it is to be mad (per the first 3 pages of a book I read that I need to read more of...) and that it doesn't really hurt anyone except yourself, right? Then I started thinking about how I've wasted my time being mad. I don't typically hold grudges, but there have been two goodies that I wasted way too much energy on. One, I've already discussed previously and the second was 9 long years! My parents went out of town for the weekend, and my brother had a party. I was blamed for the party. The best thing is that I forgave before the apology came! That's the best way, I think.

Alas - hope you aren't wasting energy! There just isn't enough for each day!

AND - more pictures will be coming. Annie had her ballet recital last night and was just precious. I just need to get the pictures off my mom's camera since ours was MIA for the last 4 weeks...

SO - now you know how I think!!! And should have much more appreciation for my husband. :)

Caught!!!

Emily is such a sweetheart and a naughty 2 year old!!! Luckily, this was a great moment while I was on the computer and she found something to play with that wasn't destructive. Love you Babe!!!

Fancy Nancy

I know I have a 1001 things to post about, but this was so traumatic, I couldn't hold it off. For the last 6 months or so, Annie (and Ben and Mom and Dad) have fallen in love with Fancy Nancy. These books are very popular. Nancy loves fancy words and french words. (Nancy also happens to be my older sister and my mom speaks French, so you can pull your own meaning from there...)

So, we do not own any Fancy Nancy books yet because they don't come in paperback...WAIT!!! I think I should change that phrase to - we didn't own any Fancy Nancy books until tonight.

See, we love to check them out at the library and have become very faithful library go-ers the last 9 months. BUT I made a tactical error and left Emily calmly looking at library books while I went to make the girls lunch. When I returned it, Fancy Nancy was no longer so fancy. :( I've been DREADING returning to the library and facing the librarian, but I did it tonight! $22 later, we finally own a Fancy Nancy book (and the Posh Puppy) - even if it is missing half the pages!!! The family will be so proud!

However, Annie was very happy to read Fancy Nancy and Bonjour Butterfly tonight after seeing the butterfly exhibit at the zoo today. :)

A Picture Speaks 1000 Words

And it would...if i could find my camera. You'd think that since my house is completely organized and clean (including carpets!!!), I would know where my camera is...I don't. However, I should mention that the garage is in a different state that the rest of the house.

You see - if there was a picture here, it would show the front of our house with a for sale sign and a phone number for a realtor. Andy has spent the last 14 months preparing, studying, testing, applying, waiting, praying, and waiting more before finally deciding to attend law school in New Hampshire! So, wish us luck with the home-selling adventure we are on and please send any prospective buyers our way!

I really wish I had my camera now to take the cutest picture of my house. We had a stager come and decorate. She brought some stuff in and I now have the cutest black pub table in the 'breakfast area' with 3 red roses. I can't think of anywhere else I would rather spend my 9th anniversary (which is today, the day our house officially is ON the market) than sitting on these tall fun black chairs looking at the green kitchen walls I love that match my happy curtains... Hopefully meetings will go quickly tonight so Andy can join me...and maybe bring home some sundaes from Braum's to celebrate... :)


***And no - there will be no sappy love stories for my husband or feelings about leaving my lone star state because I can't talk about those things without crying... ***

Emily turns 2...a month ago!

Uncle David and Nonie came to visit and celebrate Emily's second birthday. It rained most of the weekend, so we did a LOT of puzzles and legos inside instead! We had Emily's little birthday party with some of her favorite friends (big and small) and ate lots of yummy treats. She was thoroughly spoiled and enjoyed every second of it! We finally stopped celebrating this Monday as the last balloon was popped!

We love you, Ems!!!

Unfortunately Annie started throwing up in the middle of the night and most of Sunday morning. Poor little girl... :( She did a GREAT job of getting to the potty though!

With Ben playing Legos and Annie sleeping, Emily loved her time one-on-one with Uncle David and the marbles. She is wearing her new St. Patrick's Day dress! Love you Em!!! Thanks to everyone who made her birthday so special!!!

A collect-all

Life is crazy around here. More details to come... Here is the past few weeks.

Easter Morning - I had to take a quick picture which resulted in us being late for church. Easter Egg hunt with Grandma and Aunt Jamie. It stormed the night before, so we did it by the pool instead.

Emily quickly learned to bite open her eggs as soon as she picks them up to get the goodies out!

Grandma and Grandpa Maas sent a box full of eggs for a hunt at our house. This is the kids hiding their eyes because they couldn't stand waiting inside for me to hide eggs.

Ben finding egg.

Annie posed finding egg because her hand was just too fast!

Yesterday a friend told me about a field of bluebonnets, so we had a great time! Now I can see why my dad always made us pose in the fields of flowers. It smells sooooo incredible! The kids had a (well, just Ben and Annie) had a great time running through the fields until they got back in the car and were super itchy. That's the part I remember from being a little kid!

Does it get any more perfect??? Maybe if the kids were looking at me!

Sweet Emily didn't love the flowers so much and begged to be held!

Happy Spring!!!

FHE Tonight

We had a fun FHE tonight that I wanted to share. At the beginning of the year, a friend emailed me a book of FHE lessons that go along with the primary lessons/theme. LOVE IT! Feel free to use the following. Ben totally got it (5 1/2), but Annie was still a little bit lost.

Lesson 13: I Choose to Follow The Plan of Salvation Before I Came to Earth

Opening Song: “I Lived in Heaven” (CS, page 4)

Opening Prayer

Family Business:

Scripture or Testimony: 2 Nephi 2:27

Lesson: Ask the children to listen as you sing or read the words to the first verse of “I Lived in Heaven” (Children’s Songbook, p. 4) so they will know the answers to some important questions that you will ask them.
“I lived in heaven a long time ago, it is true; Lived there and loved there with people I know. So did you. Then Heav’nly Father presented a beautiful plan, All about earth and eternal salvation for man.”
· Where did we live a long time ago? (In heaven; see D&C 93:29, first sentence; Abraham 3:22–23.) “Long before this world was created, all of the spirits of the men and women who were assigned to this earth lived in a spiritual existence” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], p. 30).
· Who lived there with us?
· What was Heavenly Father’s plan for us? Explain that Heavenly Father wanted us to be able to receive a physical body, to learn to choose between right and wrong, and have the opportunity to become like him.
Explain that our life on earth is like a school. We are here to learn and be tested. If we make right choices, we will pass the tests and be able to return to Heavenly Father. Read and discuss the following quotation: “My brothers and sisters, we’re away from home. We’re off to school. Our lessons will not be easy. The way we react to them, the way we conquer and accomplish and live will determine our rewards, and they will be permanent and eternal” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 28).

Activity: Review the stages of our lives in the plan of salvation with the children. Make word strips of the various parts of the plan. Place the word strips around the room. Have children locate a word strip or figure, then stand in the correct order. Use simple costumes to have additional children represent a mother, father, and grandparent. Place this family in front of the Earth Life sign. Choose another child to stand in front of the Pre-mortal Life sign. Sing “I Lived in Heaven” (p. 4). Discuss the blessings of coming to an earthly family. Have the child move from Pre-mortal Life to the family in front of Earth Life. Have the mother place a baby blanket around the child to show the love that a family provides. Sing “A Happy Family” (p. 198). Explain that part of the plan is to leave earth life. Move the grandparent from Earth Life to Spirit World and talk of the sadness the family feels because the grandparent is no longer with them, but of the peace they feel in knowing that his or her spirit lives on. Sing “Families Can Be Together Forever” (p. 188). Discuss the role the Savior plays in the plan of salvation. Have a child hold a picture of Jesus Christ in front of the Resurrection sign. Sing an Easter song. Discuss how each child can qualify for the celestial kingdom as he or she chooses the right.

Dress Ups

Well, Annie had her little favorite friend over last week, and they decided to play dress ups. Ben and Emily wanted to join in, and we just had a festive little time! Ben was in his exercise clothes and wanted to be a cowboy so he could dance with the princesses. On went the jeans, boots, and belt... This is Emily's FAVORITE dress up - a tutu that she will even sleep in. She has really turned into a 2 year old (pictures to post later this week!) and is into everything! She's learned that by dragging a kitchen chair over to the counter, she can get to anything she wants. She is also quite the little sneak. My favorite game to play with her is just a blast. I will give her a kiss on the cheek, elbow, fingers, back, head, etc. She will make a big show of wiping it off with a flirty face you wouldn't believe! Then I kiss her again and she wipes it off. We can do this for about 30 minutes - ending when we are both laughing hysterically!

And here are the beautiful dancers. If only I could have gotten to the camera a few minutes sooner when they were dancing princesses. They have so much fun together!!!

This makes me think about going to try on homecoming and prom dresses... I mean dread doing that!

Zoo During Spring Break

Well, I don't think I have ever been to the zoo when I had to park in the overflow lot until last week! It was crazy busy, but we still had a great day! We went with my friend Maria from our local Moms' Club, and my kids just adore her little boy!

Again, trying to get everyone to smile and look at the camera... We did get to see the two new giraffes! Ben and Annie were also happy to have a new friend!

Another Arboretum Day

I hope no one is sick of Arboretum pictures yet! We had a great time over Spring Break and got there right when it opened, so we didn't have to fight the crowds! We tried so hard to get a picture with all 6 kids, but it just wasn't working very well!!! This was at the end of a long 5 1/2 hour day. However, they got more energy on the way home with 1/2 price Sonic drinks! They have a storybook theme going on right now - I think as a tribute to Laura Bush. A friend went the day before and saw her there. I think she is a wonderful person! I recently listened to her biography and was awed by her sincerity and love of children. So - there were several houses throughout the Arboretum that kids could play in and on. Unfortunately, Captain Hook left his ship!!!

Ben and his friend Kylie were VERY interested in where we were on the maps and where we would go next. I love this picture (I have about 4 others that I took throughout the morning)!!!

I tried so hard to get a good picture of all 3 of my kids. This is about the best I could come up with...

Almost exactly two years ago, we came to the Arboretum when Emily was 1 week old. I tried to recreate the photo from them, but we were in a different area.

Another fun-filled Sprink Break day!!!

Wonderful Sunday!!!

I've had the best day!!! First, Ben and Annie woke up and went to play in the living room and let Andy and I sleep in until 7:15!!! Then Ben was in such a super mood and cleaned up the living room and his room! He was so cheerful all morning - very thankful and happy. Then we just played legos most of the morning! Whenever Emily is sad, Ben will ask her if she wants to sit on his lap, which is displayed in the picture below. I even got an almost uninterrupted shower while Emily napped and the two older kids continued to play.

Church was fabulous. Keeping all three kids quiet and happy is sometimes quite a feat, but we were early enough to give Dad hugs before doing to our bench. We've been working a lot this week on reverence - thanks to a tip from an old friend - and it seemed to help a little bit (that and a gum bribe...). And LOVED the testimonies today - especially from Anthony. What a great ward we have!!!

Sunday School was amazing also! I'm going to the Teacher Improvement class with more of my favorite people (I have a lot of favorites...) and we just could have stayed on this lesson topic for another hour. Teaching by the Spirit. It was fabulous!!!

Then I got to have a wonderful dinner with my sweet parents and sister. The kids never want to leave, but the day must come to a close for their growing little bodies. They love the individual attention!!!

To top off my fabulous day, I went visiting teaching and had a wonderful time. I have a new companion because my last one moved, and although I didn't know her at all, I think we will work very well together. I love each of the women I visit, but our last sister is one of my very favorite people! She was having a big family get together, and as we drove up and saw all the cars and the cousins running around the front yard, my heart just swelled up with love for families! My mom's family used to get together the first Sunday night of each month for FHE. As we lived in Texas, we didn't get to take part in this event very often, but tonight it felt like Grandma's house again! For some reason, my tongue was tied and I couldn't get any of my Spanish words out - totally forgot all my greetings, but smiles and hugs do wonders. Thanks, Juanita, for sharing your wonderful family with us too!!! So glad to have such a great beginning to this week! Now I need to be patient and get through this next 9 days. And yes, I believe in miracles!!!


*Sorry for the lack of posting; busy last few weeks and I have sooooooo many awesome pictures, I don't want to have to make decisions about which ones to put up! March has been crazy!!!*

Sweet Evenings

I love bedtime!!! Clean kids after baths... Falling asleep when your eyes just can't stay open any longer...with your hand holding the page.

This is the one time we all relax and just enjoy books! I really should do this more during the day, but it's like I have given myself permission to not worry about finishing the dishes, sweeping the floor, returning emails, etc during this time. I have even stopped answering the phone because it's hard to get the peace back once I've transferred so many little bodies!

We just love our blue reading chair!!!!

Flying Kites

A few weeks ago, we flew some kites from Aunt Jamie. We had a great time, but there are no pictures of Emily because I held her the entire time, as the day was very windy... After I put her down for a nap, we had hot chocolate with marshmallows!

Happy Birthday...

to Dr. Seuss! I saw a friend at the gym this afternoon who left me know today is Dr. Seuss's birthday! They were going to have green eggs and ham for dinner. Since I had nothing planned and knew Andy wasn't going to be around, that sounded great! So, Ben made the green eggs (which he was very nervous to try even though Annie, Emily, and I had already devoured ours!), I did the ham and heated up a few leftover pancakes from Daddy's weekend. It was so yummy!

Then for family home evening we read Doctrine and Covenants 88:118 - seek wisdom out of the best books.... And read "Oh, the places you'll go" that Andy got for a graduation gift many many moons ago. It was such a fun night!!!

Now I'm all geared up for PIE DAY - hopefully that will last...

Happy Day!!!

Reasons why it is a happy day:
1. My first tulip bloomed!!! It's a beautiful red. I was very worried that all the daffodils would die before the tulips bloomed!
2. In Ben's prayer last night, he prayed for George Washington to be safe in his battle and for Abraham Lincoln to enjoy his birthday. He's been learning about these things in Kindergarten.
3. I get to go scrapbooking this weekend!!!
4. Tomorrow is produce.
5. I'm actually getting a few things done.
6. The sink is full of dishes, and I don't completely dread doing them (because I've started listening to a book on cd while I do them).
7. It's just a HAPPY day!!! Hope you have one too!

~lindsey

Common Occurances

Emily is 'helping' Ben play pbskids. Ben is 'helping' Emily smile at the camera. I walked into Ben and Annie's room one night to find this sign taped onto his bed. NO ADULTS ALLOWED!

Emily is my new solo food thief, but she wanted Annie in the picture with her. Although recently she has just been stealing fruit, she will grab a pear (a very precious thing in my household because I LOVE pears!), eat about a third and then leave it laying out. She will do the same for apples. Lemons she will take on bite and then leave it because the skin is so bitter. Emily - just come ask and then I will slice it for you!!!

Uh Oh

Annie fell last week and bit clear through her lip. These were taken 3 days later; our bodies are so amazing at healing!!!

Fort Worth Stockyards

For Christmas, Aunt Jamie gave us money to go to the Fort Worth Stockyards, and we had so much fun!!! We watched the junior cattle.....something show for about 30 minutes. It was AWESOME! More shocking was the amount of hair care and prep that goes into a steer before his turn in the ring! After the children's zoo, we (I mean Aunt Jamie) paid $10 for the opportunity to have a photo shoot with the little tiny kids - Emily's got scared and ran away from her...

Each person got to pick something extra fun - Annie road the dragons, Dad and Ben did a fun house, and Emily and I shared a FABULOUS funnel cake - that everyone else partook of also. We had a great time!!!