A little family visit

This month sure is a busy one! Taking a moment this morning to catch up on the blog. Recently, we had a wonderful visit from Shaun’s sister Dana, her son JJ, and their tiny dog Mitzi. I love having family and friends spend the night. I just absolutely love having a home and sharing it with others. I always bust out the cotton sheets and down comforters, and making the bathroom clean and guest ready.

As soon as they got here, Dana promptly made a yummy fruit salad large enough to feed an army, consisting of canned fruit, yogurt and cool whip. We happily ate it all weekend long. JJ got his fill of Ethan jumping and playing with him. They loved little Brooke, and she was passed around everywhere. It was just a nice weekend to have a house filled with family and dogs.

Handsome JJ

Cuties!

Enjoying “Despicable Me” I love that movie. It cracks me up so much!

Professional baby sitter, as long as he has his DS:)

Mitzi decided to take a nap with Kevin. Hilarious.

Our little angel Brooke at 2 months. Love her!

Then, it was time for the family to go home. Sad times for us. We loved having them.

Ethan and I made some snowglobes during quiet time last week. It was so easy and such fun. We used cheap baby food jars, little trees and snow men from Michaels, glitter and a hot glue gun. It’s a tradition I want to do each year. Snow globes are so magical. Something about seeing little things inside a jar with glitter swirling around makes me so happy.

 

We also took the family to see the live Nativity show that happens every year in town. We bundled them up, brought hot chocolate, braved the crowds to find a seat, and had a nice time. The church does such an awesome job at this show. Live donkey, horses, sheep, tons of volunteers dressed up in nativity clothes, and angels. Oh, how I love the angel part. On top of the building, the angels come out and sing. The lights shine on them, and there’s mist all around the angel Gabriel. The boys looked up and were entranced. I kept wiping tears from my eyes. Spirit is so strong on that part. We just held the boys close under our blanket, watched the show, and felt the true spirit of Christmas. Beautiful.

Yesterday, we made sugar cookies to deliver to friends. It was a good idea in the morning. The kids had about a 3 minute attention span with making the cookies, and left to do other things. That night, I was grumpy from Ethan not listening all day long. I packed the kids up and our goodies to deliver. Shaun stayed home with Brooke.

Each home we visited had such a wonderful spirit of love that lifted and strengthened me. As the door opened, the boys promptly took their shoes and jackets off, and ran off to play with the kids and their toys. It took a bit to get them ready to leave, but I’m grateful it turned out that way. Being around the other moms helped me not be grumpy, and strengthened me to try again the next day. Isn’t it wonderful when you just feel like the cruddiest parent and don’t know what your doing, you visit some stellar moms who have such a loving heart, and you’re lifted to be better? That’s what happened last night, so I’m glad that we delivered our goodies:)

Merry Christmas! I can’t wait Sunday!

My favorite getaway

We’ve been home bound for a bit, getting through colds. Thankfully, Brooke is fine, while the boys and I are getting through our sniffles. I’ve been the nurse all day for the boys, making smoothies with orange juice so they’ll get some vitamin C, putting oils on all day, and hanging out on the couch with a comforter over us watching Curious George 2 for the hundredth time. They love Curious George!

This is one of  my favorite things to do; go to Smiths all by myself, ha ha! Sometimes, when Shaun gets home at night, I’ll run to the store for a few things. I love to take a moment and stroll to my favorite parts of the store. I took a few pictures in the store just for fun to blog about. I know, this is a silly kind of post, but I like it:)

I love going to the special cheese section near the deli. Look at this! There’s a whole world of wonderful cheeses waiting to be discovered. Ever since falling in love with Food Network early in my marriage, I learned that there are a lot more cheeses than just cheddar. I’ve only tasted Fontina and Gouda, oh Gouda, so good. I still need to taste Brie, Havarti, and White Cheddar. I just love looking at all the cheese. Sometimes, there will be little samples left out to taste. That’s a great night when that happens!

This is the health food section, and I consider it a little museum of my life. Growing up, my Mom was way into health food, the pills, condiments, hygiene supplies, and more. Most of the stuff she used is here in this section. I love to walk slowly, uninterrupted by kids, look at everything, and just take time to smell. It’s crazy how just a smell can bring the sound of her laugh to my mind, the memory of me being a young kid playing video games, and more. Isn’t it amazing how a smell or a song can bring back so many memories so clear in your mind?

I’m such a nerd, taking a picture of me and this bottle, but I grew up with this stuff. Mom and I put it on everything, mostly pasta and veggies. It sort of tastes like soy sauce, but has it’s own taste for sure. I just see this bottle, pick it up, remember Mom, and feel thankful to have her memory in my heart.

It’s been almost 4 years since she passed away, and some days are still hard. I can’t even begin to describe how hard it is to not have your mom on earth to talk to on the phone, and get hugs of encouragement and love from, but somehow, comfort and peace is found in the small things of prayer, seeking the spirit, and just trying to do the best you can where you’re at.

Shaun and I talk about our moms and think about how their both doing in heaven. It’s neat to think that now we’re parents, trying to learn how to raise these little sweethearts, have incredible patience with them, go to bed each night and wonder if we’re doing this job ok. I’m so thankful that I can be a mom, and give hugs and tickles to these guys, wrap Brooke up in blankets and talk to her, and just take care of their needs. It’s such a turn of the tables to be a parent, but it sure is humbling.