We watched a clip from Dancing With the Stars the other night (one of the couples was doing a Cinderella waltz and the girls wanted to watch it.) So as we were watching the clip, I noticed Donny Osmond was one of the judges!  I exclaimed, "Oh, I love Donny Osmond!!"  To which Miri replied, "and I love Thomas S. Monson!"  It was so cute and random :) 

The girls have made up their own version to the song, "Savages"  from the Disney movie, Pocahontas.  Instead of singing "Savages!!  Savages!! Barely even human!!"... they sing, "Sandwiches!! Sandwiches!! Buried in the car!!"  They sing it all the time! 

I just want to vent for a second... I can't even make a simple grocery list without the girls climbing all over me!! On the bright side though, my children are all healthy and happy!  Poor Miri had a high fever of 103.7 the other night.  I was so worried, but after a day, she was back to normal!  Weston decided to start communicating with us through clicking noises.  He loves to click his tongue.  It is so cute! 

Today marks the 7th anniversary of our first date together!  April 6th is a special day in our family for so many reasons :)  This weekend was also General Conference!  General Conference is a big event at our house. We love it and look forward to it every April and October.  Not only were our souls fed by the good word of God, but our bodies were nourished by big, homemade sub sandwiches, chips and dip, cookies, chocolate milk and other snacks.  Even with all of our kids taking turns screaming and whining (I swear they take turns), we were still able to feel the spirit of Conference.  I feel a renewed desire and determination to be true to my beliefs, to be more focused on the things that matter most, to be more grateful, to rely on my Savior more, to lay up treasures in heaven, and to show forth more love to people. I loved Sister Jean A. Stevens talk.  She said that  "The gospel is not a checklist of things to do, rather it can live in our hearts."


Tonight, as we put our girls to bed, we did our usual routine: scripture study, prayer, and primary songs.  Nina requested the song: "My Life is a Gift."  Chris thought he would be super awesome and hum the piano intro to the song (Lately, Nina has been doing this...before she sings the song, she will hum the piano part.)  So, Chris started humming the introduction and then all of a sudden, Nina got real upset, and started crying, "Daddy, that's not how it goes!"  "There goes my chance at being awesome," Chris thought to himself.  So sad.  So, Chris asked Nina to show us the right way.  She then proceeded to hum the introduction with great precision. She knew every note and hummed it perfectly.   We were both amazed. It was heelarious!

Poor Miri keeps getting hurt.  Last week, she was trying to pull a toy bin off of another bin.  She succeeded, but the toy bin knocked her down and hit her in the eye.  She ended up with a black eye :(   Then today, she was climbing all over the couch and fell over the edge, smashing her face into the hard, tile floor.  She now has a bruised cheek on the other side of her face.  So sad.  Nina smashed into the tile as well today.  She was goofing around on the kitchen chairs, while eating her lunch, and fell, smashing her body onto the hard floor.  What is happening to our girls!?  They are getting to be so clumsy!? 

  

Chris just returned home from his first Elder's Quorum Presidency meeting in this ward.  He said it was humiliating!  Apparently, everyone in this ward has smartphones, netbooks, tablets, smart watches, etc.  Everyone except us :)  Chris doesn't even have texting on his phone!  So, Chris showed up to the meeting with a pen and a giant binder, full of notebook paper.  Everyone else had their techy gadgets, sharing lists and event information at the click of a button.  Poor Chris with his notebook paper, taking handwritten notes, as if he was stuck in the 60s.  The only thing left to do is for him is to make sense of his chicken scratch, type it up, and then email it out on a giant laptop with a screen covered with big black splotches.  His fellow presidency members, making fun of the whole situation said: "What?! You called him to be your secretary!" and other such comments as: "Why don't you just Xerox the meeting notes!"...basically dating him to that old fossil of a company, Xerox.   It was all in good fun though!  Hahahahahaha.  Heelarious!  We are definitely going to get texting on his phone later this month.  As for the rest, ehhh...     

I listened to this talk the other night and loved it so much, I thought I'd post it here so as not to forget it!

Covenant Marriage
Bruce C. Hafen 
Of the First Quorum of the Seventy

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/covenant-marriage?lang=eng

I often find myself thinking about the scripture from the book of Matthew, chapter 25:

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

“When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

“Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:37–40.)

Almost every morning, shortly after the crack of dawn, Nina and Miri storm our bedroom, jump on our bed and repeat over and over again: "I want food!  I want food!"  I drag my tired body to the kitchen and make them breakfast.  Breakfast is just the beginning to a day full of preparing food, serving food, feeding the baby his food, and cleaning up food.  

"For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat."

 

Every day, our home is filled with the shrill screams of baby Weston wanting his milk. "Give him some milk Mom!  Feed him!  Feed him!" the girls will cry.  Sometimes, I just can't make those bottles fast enough!    

"I was thirsty and ye gave me drink."  

I welcomed each of my three babies into this world with open arms.  I felt more love for these little strangers than I ever thought possible. 

"I was a stranger and ye took me in."

 Ah yes, and the daily struggle to dress all three of my children.  First, I have to find matching clothes in the huge pile of laundry on the floor...then I have to deal with the girls' complaining about how they don't want to wear that color today...or that the tag is itchy...or it's too hot...or there are no princesses on that shirt, etc.  Once I have managed to dress the girls, it's baby Weston's turn.  Dressing baby Weston is like trying to dress a squirming baby octopus.  He wiggles his arms and legs and body, trying to get away, while at the same time screaming and crying.  Then, after you get them all dressed, you have to do their hair, which is a story for another day.  And then, you have to find their shoes!  Shoes that actually match!  The whole task is almost more than I can bear at times.   

"I was naked, and ye clothed me."

 I feel very blessed to have three healthy children.  They have all had their sick days though.  I think I am a much better parent when they are sick.  I tend to be more patient, calm, and full of love.  We've definitely had our share of sleepless nights, helping the girls get to the toilet in time to throw up (they usually don't make it)...cleaning up the vomit stained blankets and washing it out of their hair. Running hot showers in the middle of the night, while holding each of my babies in the steamy bathroom to help them breathe better.  Checking temperatures every few hours and administering medicine.

"I was sick, and ye visited me."   

There is a sense of the divine in the daily struggles of feeding, dressing, and keeping my children healthy and well.  Every time I feed, dress, or care for my children, I am not just serving them, I am serving my Savior.  

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least (or the littlest) of these my  brethren, ye have done it unto me."  

I find great purpose in my calling as a mother.  I feel privileged to lay down my life, every hour, every day to serve these precious spirits, and ultimately, to serve my God.  This is the great blessing of Motherhood.  Now, if I could just keep this perspective in mind at all times!