What Do You Do During Breakfast?

I think they may need to spend a little less time watching Alvin & the Chipmunks and a little more time listening to Primary Songs.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Eating My Words

I hope you are sitting down for this announcement.

I've officially started running again.

Crazy, I know.

I haven't run since 1999.

(Well, there was that one time in 2001 when I tried to run around my block and I nearly passed out while dry heaving. But I don't count that.)

One of my sisters started running again this year. Then my other sister and her sister-in-law decided to start training for a 5K this summer. Somehow they talked me into joining them. I'm still not sure how they did it.

This may have had something to do with it. Isn't she beautiful?

With this baby I can run with my babies!

Tyson is finally big enough to run or ride his bike along side me (or I can run while he is in school).

I can even run during naptime ;) I just get the added workout of carrying Preston upstairs to his bed when we're done.

I've been running for about three weeks now. I am working my way into it,

r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y

using my own variation of this training program.

So far, no shin splints, side aches, or burning lactic acid.

I can now run about two miles without walking. I'm not amazingly fast (especially when pushing the stroller) but I'm proud of myself.

I still have a few weeks until the big 5K. My goal is to finish the race without walking. A time near 30 minuets would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath for that. If all goes well, I will try running other races this summer.

Tyson's Birthday

Tyson birthday is a very big event every year. We usually spend at least three days celebrating. First, there is the visit with his birth mom. Then there's a friend party. And finally we have cake and ice cream with extended family.

Tyson's friend party this year had a Scooby Doo theme. It was crazy and hectic but all the kids (I think we ended up with 17 kids) had fun. I was so busy trying to pull off this party by myself that these are the only pictures I took during the whole party:

The kids eating the sub sandwiches after solving the Mystery of the Birthday Phantom

Tyson's birthday this year fell on a major deadline for the Real Estate market. Dan wanted to help with the party but he was SO BUSY with work. (It was the equivalent of April 15th for an accountant). He was able to make it to the party for his staring role as The Birthday Phantom, but not much else. Thankfully my sister stayed during the party. I made her hold Nolan. And as an additional favor, she kept Preston from being trampled by the crowd.

I asked Tyson what his favorite part of the party was.

Without hesitation he said, "The presents!"

When I looked a little put out that he didn't love all the games and activities I had slaved over he quickly amended,

"The party was really fun mom, but you know, kids love presents!"

The following Sunday we had cake and ice cream at my parents house.

We reminded him to make a wish before he blew out the candles. It didn't take him long to think of something. And despite telling us what it was, his wish quickly came true.

He wished that the cake would taste good.

Beauty is Only Skin Deep

I realized lately that I must either be getting

better looking or less vain

in my "old age." I don't seem to wear make up as often as I used to. And I not as bothered/embarrassed to go to the store bare faced with messy hair.

I am leaning more towards the "less vain" theory after having this conversation with Tyson:

Tyson: Mom it's a beautiful spring day

Me: Yes it is.

T: Do you know who I think is beautiful?

M:No, who?

T: You! But you could use a little more make-up.

M: Um, no thanks

T: Yeah, you need lipstick

For the record: I was wearing make-up the day of this conversation. And lipstick is dangerous when you have lips like mine.

They Are So Polite

Ok, I admit this may only be funny to me.

Perhaps it's one of those "you had to be there" moments.

Tyson and Preston were playing in the basement when an unintentional injury occurred. Something about a bucket and Preston's head.

Both boys came upstairs, Preston was crying.

Tyson explained his innocence in the situation and Preston got a kiss.

All was better.

As they were going back downstairs to play I over heard Preston say,

"Tyson, I sorry for hitting your bucket with my head."

Tyson followed with, "No Preston, you are supposed to say 'You're welcome.'"

You Are My Sonshine

Tyson loves his brothers to death.

Can't ya tell?!

A New Set of Wheels

Tyson's birth mom and birth grandparents gave him roller skates for his birthday.

He loves them. But knowing how unbalanced he is, I wouldn't let him skate until I bought knee and elbow pads.

He is doing better than I thought he would, but he obviously still needs practice. Luckily Lisa and her parents also gave him several passes to the skating rink.

I have to keep the skates hidden though because Tyson isn't the only one who loves them. I catch Preston putting them on all the time.

Rollerskating can't possibly be good for my hardwood floors!

Put Your Hands Up!

Thanks to Alvin and the Chipmunks

my two boys have started singing Beyonce'.

Yes, my boys are singing to the Single Ladies.

I try to get them to sing a different song.

Unfortunately their next choice is "Don't You Wish Your Girlfriend was Hot Like Me."

I came across this video on YouTube today. I thought it was hilarious. And I LOVE that the family has used their sudden, unexpected 15-minutes of fame to promote adoption.

Dan's Home

As I mentioned in my previous post, Dan quit his job at the car dealership.

It has been such a blessing.

He is now home for special occasions like dinner and bedtime.

There is also a bit more of this going on:

Life is good.

In the Hollow of His Hand

I was sitting in my rocking chair in the quiet of my bedroom early Sunday morning when Tyson came in to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. With a hug and a kiss I thanked him for making me a Mother six years ago. I told him he was the best Mother's day present I have ever received. I was suddenly hit with a wave of understanding. Tyson was born one week before Mother's day. He was three weeks early. I suddenly knew that his being born early was a tender mercy of our Heavenly Father. He allowed Tyson to be born early so that I wouldn't have to endure one more Mother's day with empty arms. At the time I thought it was just lucky coincidence but the burning in my heart let me know that it was no coincidence.

The more I thought of this the more I realized that my entire life has been filled with these tender mercies and great blessings. They came to my mind one after another. They came with such clarity that I know, in hindsight, that they were perfectly orchestrated by our Heavenly Father. I want to hurry to write them down so that I will never forget. Please forgive my self-indulgence here, but I want to share some of them with you. Although they came to me in a random order I will share them with you chronologically so that they make more sense.

Before Dan and I were married, Dan gave me flowers for Mother's Day. Although very sweet, I found this strange because I wasn't a mother yet. It didn't bother me yet to be excluded from the circle of Mother. Little did I know that I would need to get used to celebrating Mother's day without children. Because Dan had always honored me as the mother of his future children it wasn't as painful when I spent four Mother's Days with empty arms.

During our first few years of marriage Dan worked for a phonebook company. It was a sales job that was commission only. He often didn't get paid for the work he was doing as many commissions were tied up in paperwork. It was a struggle at the time, but because we had very few expenses and food storage we squeaked by. What seemed like a trial at the time (I was buying groceries with quarters) became one of our greatest blessings. After months of living like this we had several large commissions all come through at the same time. We suddenly had a large sum of money sitting in the bank. After paying our tithing and restocking our food storage we realized we had a down payment for our first house, something that would have been very difficult to get without this "forced savings plan."

Dan worked at this job for several more years until December of 2003. Dan suddenly lost his job. This job loss seemed very poorly timed. It just happened to be the same week we met Tyson's birth mother for the first time. It's a little awkward meeting a potential birth mother when you are unemployed. We chose to look on the bright side. Dan was still in school at the time and he had finals coming up. Dan suddenly had time to study for and take his finals. Dan was only unemployed for two weeks. During that two week period he was able to interview at many local companies. By the time he was done with school for the semester he had multiple job offers, including one at the car dealership where he worked for the next six years. The dealership was only a mile from our house and he no longer had to travel around the state like he did with the phonebook company. This new job was much better suited for life with a child. And as icing on the cake: the new job's insurance policy had adoption benefits.

When Tyson was 18 months old we started the adoption process again. In preparation for having a larger family we moved to a new home, one with an extra bedroom. But after we moved that extra bedroom sat empty for months. My heart ached every time I walked past that empty room. One day as I passed the room for the billionth time I said to myself, "I just wish that room wasn't empty anymore!" The next morning I received a phone call from our adoption agency. They had a birth mother who needed a place to live for the remainder of her pregnancy. Even though we had never expressed an interest in hosting a birth mother they felt prompted to call us. It was an answer to my prayer, not at all the way I expected it to be answered, but an answer nonetheless. By that afternoon we had turned that empty room into a bedroom for a beautiful 19 year old birth mother. She lived with us for two months until her sweet baby girl was born.

During this time we were still trying to adopt a baby of our own. I was becoming very frustrated with the wait. It wasn't the actual waiting that was bothering me, it was the unknown. I didn't mind waiting, I just wanted to know how long I would be waiting for. I expressed this complaint to my Visiting Teachers one month, "I don't care if I have to wait another nine months, I just want a light at the end of the tunnel!" Just a couple months later I discovered I was pregnant with Preston. And I got my nine months of waiting, which was great because I had that light at the end of the tunnel.

After three years of working at the dealership Dan grew restless. He wasn't happy there. He had an interest in Real Estate, not car sales. Despite everyone's advice that there was no money in Real Estate, Dan knew that was what he wanted to do. He enrolled in Real Estate school and completed all his education and certification while still working at the dealership. Dan sold his first house when Preston was born. The commission from that first sale paid Preston's medical bills from his week stay at Primary Children's.

Dan spent the next couple years working two jobs, full time at the dealership to pay our bills and spare time/part time doing Real Estate to keep himself happy. Then the economy took a turn for the worse. Car sales plummeted. Dan's job at the dealership was no longer enough to support our family. Thankfully we had a second source of income already in place. Yes, Dan had to work a lot more hours, but we were able to survive this recession with very little problem. While many people were unemployed Dan had two jobs. Now Dan's Real Estate career has taken off. He is way too busy selling homes to bother selling cars anymore. He was recently able to quit working at the dealership. It is wonderful to have him back.

These are only a few of the examples that came to my mind. My whole life has been spent sitting in the palm of God's hand.

Later in the day at church a dear friend came over to talk to me. She said that she had been admiring Nolan in Sacrament Meeting. Then with tears in her eyes she said, "I was thinking of your struggles today. I am so happy that you have him now, but I can't help but think where Tyson would be if he and Preston had come right away." With tears in my own eyes I said, "I'm grateful now for the struggles because I can't imagine where Preston and Nolan would be without Tyson as their big brother."

It all happened the way it was supposed to and God was carrying me the whole time.

A Sign of the Times

Dan's phone started acting wonky the other day.

Like Dan, it's obviously been working too hard.

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

Let me give you a hint:

Yeah, it's 1970.
I told Dan that the reason his phone wasn't working properly was that it hadn't been invented yet.
Dan wasn't even invented yet!

Dan can't survive one day without his phone so T-Mobile overnighted him a new one.

The next day my phone stopped working.
Here is the key difference between my life and Dan's life:

It took me three day to notice it was broken. Then I spent a week without a phone. During that week I only missed two calls (one of them was from Dan).
Now I am borrowing an old one till next month when I can upgrade for free.

Wordless Wednesday

Tyson Loves Lisa

In honor of Tyson's birthday we had a play date with his birth mom, Lisa, and her family.

We met at Boondocks for pizza, mini golf and arcade games.

Everyone had a lot of fun.

This was the first time we had all the kids with us (six in all) so it was a little crazy.

Tyson loves seeing Lisa. He feels a great bond to her. I know he will always want her to be part of his life.

Tyson told me her son Gage is his favorite!

Those two have way too much fun together. They may not look alike, but they are two peas in a pod.

All the kids (minus Nolan, who insisted on being held all night long.)

I know it's emotional for Lisa to see Tyson again. But she has said again and again that she knows she did the right thing for herself and for Tyson when she placed him in our arms.

We will be forever grateful that she did.

Happy Birthday Tyson!

It's been a year of super heros and lost teeth.

He's learned to play sports and be an awesome big brother.

He's played hard and grown so much!

We'd be lost without you Tyson!

We love you Buddy!

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Wordless Wednesday

My Nolie Cannoli

Nolan is now two months old.

He is such an easy going baby.
He loves to eat and sleep and will do either whenever I need him to.

He is doing well as the third child.

You know, the one whose life revolves around the schedule of his older siblings.

Yeah, that him.

And he doesn't seem to mind.



He sleeps through the night like it's no big deal.
I have to keep reminding myself that it is a big deal!

He loves to smile for anyone willing to smile back, but most especially for Tyson and me.



He has beautiful eyes framed with long long lashes.

It's easy to get lost in them.

He is completely kissable, which is good because kissing him is my favorite pastime.

Kindness & Compassion

In a world that is very rough and tough, and I am trying to teach my boys to be kind and compassionate.

In fact, I am officially changing my "Word for the Year" to Kindness.

I have found that they are able to resolve almost any conflict with a simple reminder to be kind. For example, if the boys are fighting over a toy (i.e. Tyson does not want to share his toy with Preston) Tyson doesn't not have to give his toy to Preston but he does have to be kind in the way he says no. Sometimes that means helping Preston find something else to play with.

I don't allow them to yell at each other, or hit one another. (Tyson still yells and Preston still hits but we are working on it.) They are lucky to have each other, and I won't let them treat each other badly. I want them to be best friends. I also want them to learn how to resolve their own problems without needing me to referee. I want them to learn these life skills before they head out into the real world. I tell Tyson that I can't let him play with friends until he is able to play nicely with his brother.

In the last few weeks I've started witnessing the fruits of my labors.

One afternoon I was watching a movie with all three boys. Nolan was snuggled on my chest, and the two big boys were sitting next to me. Without a word Preston climbed up on Tyson's lap and snuggled into his chest. Tyson wrapped his arms around his little brother and kissed the top of his head. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Preston climbed back down. Neither one said a word to each other. It was just a sweet brotherly moment while watching Alvin and the Chipmunks.

A few days later Dan and I were reading bedtime stories to the boys. Preston asked, "Tyson, will you hold me?" Tyson opened his arms and let his little brother climb up onto his lap.

They are building a friendship that I hope will last a lifetime.

Sometimes we run into problems with friends who come over to play. It's surprising how many children have a dog-eat-dog attitude about life. I've received many surprised looks from neighbor kids when I tell them that if they can't play nicely they can't play at all.

I know my kids aren't perfect. They hit , they take toys from other children , they fight, they like to get their own way.

But they are learning.

And I am proud of them.

Through this process I am finding myself being kinder to them.

(Maybe it's due to the lack of pregnancy hormones. Or maybe I'm getting softer in my old age, I don't know.)

I yell a lot less. I more aware of the tone of voice I use with them. I say 'yes' as often as I can. I let the 'little things' slide. My parenting style is changing. And it's a good change.

Wordless Wednesday

Preston-isms

Very little in this world is funnier than a two-year old learning to grasp the English language. Here are a few funny things Preston says. I find it adorable and would like to remember these Preston-isms when he is "all grown up."

Preston's favorite thing to eat for lunch is a

"Peanut Jelly and Jelly" sandwich.

Sometimes Preston tells me he is bigger.

Other times he insists that he is "litter".

Preston is very independant. He likes to help in the kitchen. His favorite tasks are "spinning" (stirring) and "spilling" (pouring).

Whether it happen last week, yesterday or an hour ago,

Preston will tell it it was "years ago".

Girls are grills.

His sentence structure is awesome:

"Is you have any more yogos?"

Who somebody is that? Who somebody turned off the light? Who somebody is coming to our house?

"Who somebody is dat grill dat came to our house years ago."