March to April

I think this was Josh hanging out with Aunt Carmel. Crazy things always happen. :)


Cool block tower Josh built. He is getting pretty creative.

Daddy and the boys making surprised faces. :0

LOVE love love these two. Couldn't have a cuter baby.

Josh no joke dressed himself like this the other day and yes, he carried that stick around. So funny.

Crazy cute Caleb.

Prettiest bush in the yard currently.

Warning, following photo not for the faint of heart. You can't even see it very well, I need to take better pictures. This is Tyson's reaction to just a tiny bit of poison ivy. Craaaazy!

The master of disguises!

Easter egg hunts. Josh is awesome. Tyson trained him to go super fast and get as many eggs as possible.

Caleb was too cute.

We gave Matthew some sixlets to hold, not thinking he could eat them. Oh, he got it open and a few before we realized it.

Prettiest day ever.

Pop's birthday party! Sorry not a great picture. That morning I asked Josh, "Josh, whose birthday is it today?" And he said, "Oh I know, Jesus's!" So cute. Yup, Jesus and my dad. Great day to celebrate. :)

Grandma Cooper sent this awesome egg and it was huge! The boys were WAY excited!

Coloring eggs.

Finding Easter baskets.

Left Caleb alone with his basket, not a good idea. :)

Carmel made a SUPER cute carrot cake, not to mention REALLY tasty!

And our beautiful Cassie girl with the boys. She took them out to lunch while Tyson was out of town. Nicest present ever. I forgot to get a picture of the german chocolate cake she made for Easter too. Man, yesterday was a great feast. Not just that, it was a wonderful day to celebrate the Savior. It was so pretty outside and everything about the spring reminds me of rebirth and the Savior's Atonement and the hope of the Resurrection. How completely blessed we all are!

Doctor! Tell me what you gonna do!

Ethnie and Leo are over here this morning. Josh and Ethnie are talking to each other and this is the conversation I heard:

Josh (doctor): What is the matter with your baby?
Ethnie (worried mom): He is sick.
Josh: What's wrong with him?
Ethnie: I don't know, he is just sick.
Josh: Does he need medicine?
Ethnie: Yeah, I think so.
Josh: Do you have some at your house?
Ethnie: No, I don't.
Josh: Do I have some at my house?
Ethnie: I don't know.
Josh: Oh, I probably do. Would you go get it for me?
Ethnie: I don't know where your house is!


I'm glad that my conversations with the doctor don't sound like this. Can you imagine, the doctor looking at you and asking "does your baby need medicine?" Um, doc, that is what I am here for, does he? Haha, so funny. Gotta love kids pretending to be big.

God Bless Me

As I walked into Walmart yesterday with Matthew in the snuggly on my front, Caleb on my hip (because how could he be made to actually use his legs), and Josh holding my available hand, an older lady stares at me.

The sweetheart, she walks right up to me and says "God bless you!" And laughs.

I can only imagine how I looked. Three kids that young must look like a lot. They sure feel like a lot.

So, I answered the adorable woman,

"That is what I tell myself everyday."

And I meant it. In multiple ways. Some days being a mom of three is a blast and SO hilarious. Other days it isn't so easy and I find myself taking a lot of breaths. I mutter prayers rather often for the Lord to bless me with patience. But there are many more times that I whisper prayers of gratitude for the multiplicity of blessings the Lord has given me.

How kind that woman was, to make me feel strong because not only am I daring enough to bring all three kids to the store by myself, but I am strong enough to have them all in the first place. And what perfect little boys they are. So yes, God has blessed me. I am so thankful for that woman for reminding me.

Pictures, because well, you just can't get enough

So I haven't posted my mountainous amounts of photos in awhile and a certain Grandma I think is a little disappointed in me. :) So, here are some of the ones I have. We had a crazy snow storm, okay, not huge, but it snowed and snowed and then the next morning it melted all away. So we enjoyed it as much as we possibly could while it lasted. Pop (my dad) brought his topagen up to the school and we went sledding up there. Well, Josh and Tyson did, Caleb was NOT interested.

Such a beautiful building.Sleeping Matthew, in the freezing cold, poor kid.I love that Tyson makes me so happy!My dad is awesome.Carmel came and played in the snow with the boys the next morning. They love Aunt Carmel.Pop teaching Caleb how to properly eat food like a baby bird. :) Oma's birthday cake tastes better that way I guess. :)Dinner: cake Dessert: apple gotta love itMy little doll face, love this youngest boy of mine

Valentine's day, Tyson left little heart notes hidden all over the house with notes on them. It made the fun last for a few days because I couldn't find them for awhile, it was great! I made chocolate boxes with chocolate pudding and raspberries (well, chocolate covered almonds in Tyson's box). Yum!

They are SO cute!Animal hats

Daddy daughter dance. A lot of fun. Hooray for Cassandra for making that happen.

Matching church outfits thanks to Grandma Cooper. Such cutie pies!

reading with Grandma

the true reason for play dough, to bury your toys

Had to post this because of Caleb's faceTyson's latest creation, peanut clusters and SOOOOO good!

Pop and Oma came over with saddles and hats, such a fun ride for the boys.

I don't think Matthew liked it quite yet though. :)Tyson came home from his walk with this the other day, love that man.

Josh taking pictures. :)

St. Patty's Day, the leprechaun came to visit and put candy in their shoes. So fun.

Preschool

About 8 (it used to be more but the numbers are dwindling) other moms and I got together in August and started a preschool for our kids. I am SO thankful Nicole invited me to join them. Josh has learned so much and I love being a part of his education and getting to teach him every once in awhile.

Well, this month, Nicole and I have been teaching together. It has been no piece of cake, but wow, so much fun. I love kids and I have a special place in my heart for the extra crazy ones or the "trouble makers." Well, they all have given me a run for my money on several occasions. But then there are moments where I almost cry because the things they say and know and the way they act is incredible.

All the kids are ages 4 to 5, Josh is the youngest by several months. He is quiet by nature, okay, not at home, but everywhere else it seems. His church leaders feel like they have had a break through when he actually speaks and if he participates, whoa, a miracle has just happened. Well, he is a little more open at preschool, but not much. He usually plays by himself or with a few of the quieter girls, but only once have I seen him actually joining in with the other boys. It makes me wonder if I was like that or if Tyson was.

Wait, I remember chasing a kick ball around the play ground in 3rd grade because it seemed like better company than everyone else and I thought no one wanted me to hang out with them. That just reminded me of Kip (Kristen) when she moved in right before 4th grade. What a heaven sent blessing she was and is. We have been friends ever since. Maybe I should just pray for a friend like that for Josh.

Anyways, so this month while I have been teaching we have been talking a lot about nutrition and keeping our bodies healthy. So on Thursday we went to the dentist office a few blocks away from the preschool. They were really awesome and gave a great tour and free toothbrushes to the kids. But there was a moment where all the kids were standing against a wall and learning how to properly brush their teeth. I looked at all the kids and they were so adorable and good. They all looked so different, some tall, others short, and there was my little Josh right in the middle. He is almost a head shorter than most of the boys and one of the few with brown eyes.

My heart just caught at the sight of him with his large chocolate eyes staring at the dentist, with the corners of his mouth slightly tipped up in a smile. His face is so round and young and so perfect to me. Part of me kept thinking how little he looked, especially with kids that are (comparatively) so much older than him. Then another part of me couldn't believe my own little boy was 4. How quickly he has changed from the baby they held in front of me screaming, covered in all kinds of gross fluids (all I wanted to know was what color his hair was), into a long, skinny crawler that growled all the time. Then without even blinking he was walking, opening doors, covering me in every shoe he could find in the house while I napped, pouring Hershey syrup all over the carpet. He had curly hair and loved to glare at everyone. Then he was the protective big brother of "baby guy" and ate "pawcorn" and loved everything Elmo. Then we moved and he played out in the yard every chance he got. He was afraid of rain until he got rain boots and then I couldn't get him out of the rain. He was daddy's best helper and had (and still has) absolute confidence that Daddy can fix anything. He went to nursery, then sunbeams and learned to live without diapers and cook his own oatmeal (he learned that at home). He vowed to marry any girl that came near him and tries to be good all the time and teach others to say and do good things.

He is only four, how am I going to handle him really growing up?

I am so lucky to have him and Caleb and Matthew. And of course, Tyson. No, lucky isn't right, I am so blessed. Some days I just want to hug them close and capture the moment like a potion and bottle it up so I can open it and relive it whenever I want. How quickly things change.

How quickly a baby walks up the steps to preschool.

Book

Finally finished all the finishing touches and sent my book off to the publishers last week. AH! We will find out in a few months...
good or bad, at least I wrote it!