Snowed Inn

My birthday wish came true. At the beginning of the month I told Aaron all that I wanted for my birthday was a little family get-a-way. He made it happen. We spent the weekend up in Glorious Park City! I love it there anyday, anytime of the year. We stayed in a cozy condo and as luck would have it, a huge snow storm kept us quite comfortably tucked in. We did manage to go outside and play in the snow each day. But most of the time we stayed inside watching movies, playing games, reading books, and eating. If we got bored, then we'd just throw our snow stuff on and get tuckered out outside. It was exactly what I wanted. Best birthday ever!

This may be the only time that I absolutely LOVED the snow! It was positively beautiful!

The first night we jumped on the beds and made a mess.

 

 

I don't usually like to play in the snow. But I wanted to be a good sport and spend quality time with my family. Afterall, this was my birthday wish and you cannot go to Park City in the wintertime and not play in the snow. Fortunately, there was soooo much right outside our front door that we literally did not go anywhere.

 

 
 

Hannah has become quite good at the games "Memory" and "Guess Who" and "Old Maid". I honestly can say that when she wins it is because she did herself. She's also become very competitive, but she is a good sport when she does lose. Makes it fun to play with her. 

 

   Unfortunately, the success rate with pottying was no better up in the mountains. I think I may have to start completely over with the two of them. They did so good for 3 whole days! What did I do wrong?

I absolutely loved that instead of a nap in bed, the kids took naps on us.

 

The last day we took the kids on the Gondola up the canyon. It was cold, but oh so beautiful.

 

 

We wasted no time in the snow making snow angels, sledding, and building snowmen.

 
 
 

 

  Just before we packed up to head back home, I dared Aaron to jump off the balcony into the mound of snow below. The pictures do not do justice for just how high this was. Nathan was nervous for his daddy, but Hannah was with me and told him to do it. I have to admit, I was a little nervous that there may be a huge bolder under all that snow that really wasn't buried. Fortunately, he just got whiplash. Just kidding, that part wasn't fortunate at all, but he still can't back down from a good dare. Especially when it's his wife who's daring him.

 
 

The snow followed us home and for the first time I was actually okay with it. I love my little family and the weekend was a good reminder of the simple things that make me happy.



Mother Nature has been awfully kind lately.

There is no snow anywhere in my yard. I am LOVING it. A storm is coming in I think tomorrow. For now, I will just soak up what we've been given. The kids are confused though by the warming up outside.

They begged me to take them swimming. We didn't go. The strep is going around our house AGAIN!!!!
Susan watched Hannah last night while we attended the Blue & Gold Banquet for Cubscouts. She called me today to tell me some of the things Hannah said last night.

Hannah-isms
First, a little background. Susan was watching t.v., I think it was "The Biggest Loser", and Hannah was annoyed with it and wanted to watch something for kids. Susan told her that she doesn't really have anything for kids because she doesn't have any kids of her own. Thus, the discussion begins.

Hannah: "Why don't you have kids"
Susan: "Well....because I don't have a husband"
Hannah: "You should just go out and get one"
Susan: "It doesn't quite work that way Hannah"
Hannah: "Yes it does, that's what my mommy did. She went out and got Aaron".

While Susan is laughing from this conversation, Hannah is brushing Susan's hair and watching something on the t.v.. I guess there was a very pretty lady, with long blonde hair.
Hannah: "I want to look just like her, she is so pretty".
Susan: "really Hannah?"
Hannah: "Yes, she is beautiful"
Susan: "Hannah, you are much more beautiful than she is"
Hannah: "I am?"
Susan: "Yes"
Hannah: "You are pretty Aunt Suzie"
Susan: "Thank you Hannah"
Hannah: "We should always tell people they are pretty, even if they aren't huh?"
Susan: "Oh Hannah, yes, we should always tell people they are pretty".

So, now the question remains if Hannah thinks her Aunt Suzie is actually pretty or not. Funny girl.

Back to today. I found Nathan like this

He fell asleep after I got upset with him about pooping in his underwear. I asked, begged, pleaded with him to go sit on the toilet because I knew he had to go. But, he may be the most stubborn 3 year old, and he would not! Not two minutes later, he had done his duty in his underwear, so I made him stay in it with plastic pants over it. I know, I know, what a mean mom I am, but I was so frustrated!

The miracle for the day is this: My children ate all their dinner tonight! I have been consistant with feeding my kids wholesome, nutritious foods that they hate. Ok, they don't hate everything, but most everything. But I am determined! (hmmm...maybe I can see where that stubborn issue with my 3 year old comes from). They ate a plate full of brown rice with steamed vegetables; carrots, beets, broccolli, and cauliflower. My joy is full! That's all I have to say about that!

Last, but not least, Abby pooped in her pull-up just before bed. I asked her if she was poopy, and she said, "I sit in it"....which means, I want to sit in it. Apparently I've been saying that a little too much around here. And, Hannah is loving to read and I LOVE that she loves it.

Happy Thirty-Two Years

"Today it is my birthday and I sing to let you know, that I will be queen for the day....whatever I say goes!" Ok, so I sing this to my children on their birthdays, but since this is my thing, I sang it loud and clear for all to hear in my house this morning. Aaron laughed and so did the kids. And "the Queen" has had a fabulous day! It started off with a phone call from my sister Carlee who sang to me, then I received an e-mail from my 97 year old grandmother, wishing me a happy birthday. Then my sweet mother-in-law called and sang to me as well. Hoo-Yay, there's been a lot of singing today. This all happened before 10 am, so it was bound to be a great day!  My day went as follows: To the temple with Susan to do initiatories where we met my mother who was the temple worker. Such a neat experience, plus we had family names; my mother's father side. We then met up with my dad and all had lunch together. My mom shared with us the day I was born. I was the first one of my parents nine children that my dad was able to see the birth. I will spare the story, but it is pretty darn funny if I do say so myself. This afternoon was spent in the Instacare for my sweet Hannah. This poor girl cannot catch a break from strep. So round two for her here we come! I spent the day talking with old friends, having surprise visitors, unexpected phone calls, and spending the evening with those I love most...minus Hannah since she was sick and missed the Blue and Gold Banquet for Cubscouts. I end this night taking pictures of me with the kiddos. Happy, Happy Day! and even more happy weekend to come.

This is Life. Not Eternal Life

My sister Susan says this a lot. Especially on those days when life is hard. It makes me smile when my life seems hard. It's easy to think this heartache, this worry, this mess, this pain, this frustration, this whatever, is going to last forever! But, it's really not. And I know that. Boy am I ever grateful for this knowledge. It's been a good day. Change is coming our way. It's good. It's going to be hard, but I really am grateful for it. I am surrounded by my children today and I love listening to them talk, play, read, just love having them with me. This is not always the case. There are days I want a break and even would like that break to last a few days, but I also have a great understanding of the trust I've been given to raise them and the more I learn and know this, the more I LOVE this undertaking that is mine.

Today Hannah asked me if she could still kiss me when I was old. When I told her yes, she radiated her beautiful smile and was happy and content. She's been concerned with me getting old lately. Don't know why. She also wanted me to know that she does not have a boyfriend yet. Hmmm....good to know.

Nathan told me a I was "beautiful" this morning. Made my day! He also pooped 4 times in his underwear today. FOUR TIMES!!!! Who poops that much? On the good side, two out of the 4 he finished in the toilet and he didn't have one wet accident today. WAY TO GO BUD!

I love kissing that chubby face. 

Melv's Post

Mandy Kay Casper Randall

We are exactly two weeks apart, Mandy and me. We are quite certain that we were friends in heaven long before we became friends on earth. We were college roommates nearly 13 years ago. We are kindred spirits. She is one I can talk to on the phone for hours (and if you know me, that's saying something because I am NOT a phone talker). She knows me soooo well. She is as real as they come, not a phony bone in her body. She is a happy person and makes all around her happy too. She is an amazing woman with a zest for life that I crave! She is the wife of one very very lucky man....but he's pretty great as well. She is the mother of two rowdy boys and one princess girl. She lives out in the country in Idaho....and I miss her a lot. She has perfect teeth. She is an only girl in her family and her mom used to tell us while we were on the look out for Mr. Right, "you girls are the whole package" and that made me feel so special.

Some of my favorite memories with Mandy are:

-The time we went to her cabin in the summer and made matching quilts for our beds for the next school year. We sewed from sun up to sun down. It was amazing! And our quilts are amazing and something I truly cherish. I had a friend tell me once that she didn't believe I made it. When I told Mandy's mom about that she told me to say, "get over it, I am that amazing"! Her mom is a riot!

-The time we read the Book of Mormon together in one weekend! It was an incredible experience. We didn't answer the phone, answer the door, even cooking was a distraction. That was a such a blast!

-Or, how about this experience Mandy

This is us on a walk at 11:00 at night right behind my house, on a trail. Aaron wanted us to go with weapons, so we wore these head lamps and took hammers with us. We were laughing so hard and too chicken to really walk on that trail for very long. Side note, whenever we take pictures together we always laugh because we purposely take it up high so we have to point our chins up to make sure we have no double chin.  

- We have lauged together, bawled together, wet our pants from laughing so hard many, many times. Oh the stories I could share. She is a soul sister and I love her.

Two of her three munchkins, Grant and Corbin.

Opposite of Lovely

I shouldn't be surprised, but it was kind of an awful day. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Didn't get enough sleep. Nate and I butted heads first thing and so their was discipline too early for a good day. Tried to be productive with something this morning. Not very successful. Took the kids outside knowing that a big storm is coming in and this beautiful weather will be gone tomorrow (and boy is the wind ever blowing outside right now). Saw a friend out with her daughter. We had them over to play and eat lunch. This made me happy, but the fighting between my kids and her daughter did not make me happy. Put Abby down for her nap, took Hannah to school, put movie on for Nathan and finally took a shower at 2pm. Came back down to a boy asleep on the couch, so I began dinner. When Nathan woke up he had wet his pants. Kids were hungry at 5pm so I sure was glad that I started dinner early. They barely touched it. This always puts me in a great mood. Let the kids play/make a mess of the house while I played the piano as if I was performing for a grand audience. Meanwhile, the noise level of the kids was getting louder, therefore I started playing louder and faster and more intensely. Nate comes in to tell me that he has pooped his pants.  Frustrated and slightly angry, I told him he could just sit in it or change it himself. He cried. He asked me if he changed it, if I would wipe him clean. I laughed and said, yes. Wouldn't you know, when I went to wipe his bum, the wipe slipped from my hand and I put my hand right on the poop! I did not laugh. But I am laughing now. The night did not end terrible thank goodness. The children settled down. I read them books, we read the scriptures. Nathan bawled and ran out of the room during family prayer because I said it tonight and he wanted to. We kissed and made up and I sang him songs in his bed. It's nights like tonight that I'm sad Aaron works late most nights. It is a roller coaster of emotions every day, between me and the kids, but when the kids go down well.....it makes up for the awful day.

Lovely

Today has been lovely. Abigail is feeling better. My house stayed pretty clean. I only vaccuumed the floor 3 times. My children ate most of their dinner I made. We played outside a little in the beautiful 60 degree February weather. I showered and was ready before 10 am. I was particularly attracted to my husband today. I did not get upset once with Nathan. We went to story time at the library and I smiled watching Abby and Hannah dance and sing. I ate every piece of chocolate I could find in my house. I drank my green smoothie so I wouldn't feel so guilty about the chocolate. I listened to an oh so inspiring talk from two incredibly inspiring people, Stephanie and Christian Nielsen. I really enjoyed motherhood today. Nathan and Abigail did not have a single accident in their underwear. Today was lovely.

I don't want to forget

What my kids wrote me for Valentines Day. I spilled water on their cards and now they are ruined. So now I'll keep what they wrote unfortunately on here instead. Aaron wrote on the cards exactly what the kids said.

Hannah's
   "I love my mommy....and this is from Hannah. And Happy Valentines Day. Ok, and this card is from....hmmm, we made this card for you that's because we love you. You're my very very best mommy. Love Mommy. It's all about love mommy and love Hannah."

Nathan's
  Daddy: "How do you tell Mommy how much you love her?" Nathan: "I got a card! Happy Birthday! Happy Valentines Day! Card! Shasha! I got a blankie." Daddy: "Do you love mommy?" Nathan: "knods..." Daddy: "why"? Nathan: "cause. want. momma...'cause we go to church. watch a movie. playing a game. I love you mommy".

Abigail's
  For my special Mommy. Happy Valentines Day from your smallest princess who loves you a lot. "Whommy"!!!! (Abby saying mommy with a stuffy nose).

I laughed when I read each one of these. They are precious to me.

Happy Valentines Day!

We've been sick. We are still sick. But sickness does not have to affect celebrating our love for eachother. (that may be the reason we all got sick in the first place).

I got up at 6:45 this morning to make my family a Valentines breakfast. Nathan is my early bird and is usually up by 7 or 7:15. I set the table, threw candy on it and made pink pancakes.

 7:15 went by, then 7:30. Where are my kids? Nathan finally snuck down at 7:45. He never disappoints with his cute little excitement in the morning. When I said, "happy valentines" to him, his response was "oh, I so escited". He never does quite get the "x" in that word.

Hannah and Abigail joined him at 8:30. Good little sleepers, but like I said, we've been sick, so sleep away my darlings!

Hannah never looked up once for the camera. She was too focused on all the candy. Ugh! Oh well....it's going to be a super sugary day anyway. I then went up for my sweetheart to bring him down. (He's been the real sick one as of late). Nothing like a first thing photo in the morning!

My gift to Aaron this year. A painted picture of us kissing. Perfect eh? Thank you Hillary Horman!

His gift to me. A picture of our family on canvas.

I love it! All I can say is, it's a good thing we didn't choose the same picture to give eachother.

Happy Valentines to all the ones we love. That's all of you. Mwah!

My Valentine

Mr. Lombardo- You are my one true valentine. You know I'm not a real sappy person, but I'm going to put myself out there and be a little sappy.

You make me happy. Heaven knows I'm not easily entertained, but you are a fun guy. When we were first married, in our first church ward in Fresno, someone once said of you "everyone wants to be Aaron's friend because he is so much fun". That is so very true.

Which brings me to my next thing. You are my friend. There is noone I'd rather be with than you. I love that you have dreams and that you are taking the steps to follow those dreams. (sorry that I'm a dream killer sometimes).

You are my lover. I can count on one hand how many boys I've kissed before you and your first kiss was the clencher! You are loving and kind and a romantic at heart. I'll never forget the time I came home from work, when we were first married to a rose taped to the front door. When I opened it, there were hundreds of roses covering the entire apartment. I couldn't believe it!

I fell in love with you because of your love for the Lord. It was a talk you gave in Sacrament meeting that made me want to get to know you. You've overcome some obstacles in your life and have made some tough choices, but those choices have proved your commitment to following Jesus Christ and for that I love you so much.

One more thing I must say about you is that you are the most forgiving man I know. You are usually the first one to say your sorry, even if it's not really your fault, and you are so willing and quick to forgive.

So happy Valentines Day. You are my eternal true love.

Hanners

You are a little beauty queen. In fact, you regularly ask if you look pretty. It's a tad bit worrisome, but we are hoping you'll outgrow your little obsession with looks.  You are my little friend Hannah Camille. If ever I'm sad, you hold my hand and give me a hug. If ever I'm sick, you are extra concerned for me and put your little hand on my forehead to check it (just like I do you when you're sick). You are talented in so many ways. You are a friend to all. You love school and learning. You practice the piano so well and put up with so much from an overbearing mother sometimes. You make your bed and clean your room better than I do. You love to laugh and play. Friends are very important to you. You are such a great big sister. Nathan loves to tease you, but you are so good to play with him when I ask you to.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the three of you kiddos, but you are such a big helper these days. I wonder if I don't expect too much from you, but I think you really like the responsibilities and trust I have in you.

Our eating habits have changed drastically in the last year. It's pretty much devastated you, but every day you thank Heavenly Father for all the good food I prepare every day for our family. You are always willing to try new things. You often don't like those new things. You have a sweet tooth, more so than your siblings. You can tell when I've made a treat with something good for you in it. You love singing and can be found anywhere in the house singing or humming. You are sensitive and get your feelings hurt easily. You are honest. You want to please. You love to color and draw and we can't believe how great you are getting at both. You love family night (I think mainly for the treats that I don't slip the healthy stuff in). You are my sweet girl that I love with all my heart.

Lazy first week of February

We've been a bunch of sickies over here. We've had everything from strep, bad colds, to diaarhea. It's been fun. No, not at all, but it has been fun to stay in pajamas all day, be inside while it's snowing outside, and hanging together. And when I say hanging, I mean literally hanging.

It's given me some time to copy some ideas off of other blogs I've seen lately, but I can't figure out how to add their links to my blog, so you can go to NieNie's blog and 71 toes. Both found on my sidebar.

We made crayon hearts to hang in our windows. (instructions found on NieNie's blog).

Totally easy and totally fun. Made my heart (no pun intended) happy to see the pretty colors shine through. And I'm loving the snow. I hate the cold, but love the snow.

For family night we decorated our cabinets with homemade conversation hearts. This idea came from the blog, 71 toes. Although we helped Abigail and Nathan with their hearts, Hannah thought up her own things for the hearts she made and wrote them out herself as well.

(this says, "I love mom because she works hard to take care of me).



Hannah has also been getting her Valentine cards ready for each one of her classmates.

It's only February 8th, but I feel like we've been "stuck" inside forever! I'm running out of ideas to keep these kiddos entertained. Hannah will go back to school tomorrow. That will help to break up the day for all of us. Hallelujah!

Nathan Daniel

When you are happy....you are really happy.When you are mad....you are really mad. Sometimes you like to go by Daniel boy and will not answer to anything else. Most of the time I have to learn the hard way which name you will answer to. You are intense and focused. You love the snow. You are sandwiched between two girls who don't understand boys which makes your life difficult sometimes.

You are often called "Aaron junior", the likeness is very obvious. You are rough and love to play rough. You worship your dad. He thinks you're a stud too. When you'll cuddle, it's my most favorite thing in this world! You are usually the one who is most sad if I have to go somewhere without you. You are my best eater, but my worst sleeper. You love life Nathan and love to be outside. Your smile and eyes can light up a room. You often set the mood for our family. You bring lots of dynamic to our family. We've been focusing a lot lately on telling you that you are a good boy and it warms my heart to hear you say, "I a good boy" instead of hearing you say "I naughty". You love making forts, and destroying them too. We are trying to teach you to say more in your prayers than just, "thank you for the food, amen". However, when we are all really hungry, you are always the go to man for the prayer. You're sensitve Nathan. You aim to please and are quite devastated when mommy is not happy with you. I enjoy our time together when Hannah is away at school and Abigail is taking a nap. Usually you want to watch a movie during that time and you always want me to watch it with you. I love to have you sit on my lap while I read you books. You ask a million questions though about each page and it does drive me a little batty. I think you have the most beautiful eyes and the longest eye lashes! Your giggle makes us all happy. I wish I could bottle it.  I love your zest for life buddy. You are my little valentine.  

Traumatizing Experience

So, I know I'm a bit dramatic. I know that I can exaggerate things a tad. But this was seriously one of the worst experiences of my life! I cut my finger cutting some lettuce for the below event of the MOM's dinner. (So if any of you reading this were at the dinner and ate my salad, and haven't been feeling well now you know why. Just kidding, the salad was perfectly safe to eat). I immediately grabbed my finger before any blood appeared, washed it, and put two band-aids on it and took an 800mg Ibuprofin. It hurt, but really, I was fine.....so I thought. Fast forward to 2am. Woke up to  a throbbing finger. I was pretty much awake the rest of the night. The next morning I took the band-aid off, showed Aaron and he was very concerned because it was swollen, and bleeding just as bad as if I had just cut it. He tried his best to persuade me to go to the doctor. But I'm stubborn. (not one of my better qualities) and said no. He put some anti-biotic cream on it and re-wrapped it. The pain was through the roof. Man I'm stubborn. I took another pill. Pain subsided. At 10:30 it really started to hurt again and then the fear of infection got the better of me. So I called my neighbor, who I absolutely knew would force me to the doctor. She took one look at it and said, "I'll drive you myself". My heart started racing just a tad. The thought of stitches, meant also a shot. Now, please know, I'm not entirely a wimp people. I did have one baby al-natural. I have felt physical pain before, but I was sceered to the point of tears.

To make this long story shorter, I had to have two stitches put in. It took 45 minutes to numb the finger enough for me to be able to have the doctor scrub (isn't that a fun visual) the wound and then stitch it. I thought I would faint. I didn't bawl, but I did cry. So, my goal is to never repeat this experience EVER in my life.

Here is my finger 3 days after it happened.