I did it!

1. I actually managed to get through an entire day without raising my voice - a.k.a. 'yelling'. I know that shouldn't be such a hard thing to accomplish, but for my impatient, over reactive self, it is. I am continually praying for more patience and understanding with my boys, but I seem to loose focus of that goal pretty early in the day - usually about the time that they start arguing with me, arguing with each other, knock Asa over because they are being careless, or over react to something that has frustrated them (hmmm, I wonder where they could have learned that).

Well, I decided I better shut-up and listen if I am going to receive any help. So, when the little stinkers in my little angels appeared, I tried harder to think before acting (amazing concept). And, I did this for an entire day. Does this mean I handled every situation the best possible way? Heavens, no. But, I didn't yell. And, wouldn't you know it, there was a lot more peace in my home today. Now, if I can do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next....

2. One of my favorite moments as a parent is to listen to my children pray. I love how easy it is for children to have faith in their Savior. I also love how unintentionally funny their prayers are. Luke, in particular, always seems to make Adam and I laugh (not aloud, though) with the completely random things he says. Most kids try to repeat what you are saying in a prayer, but Luke just uses any pause to add his 2 cents - all while mimicking any movement/wiggle that Isaac has just made. One thing that he continually prays for is to "Help Grandma Po-wee (Pulley) or Grandma Ubridge (Loveridge) not die." This is obviously a great thing to pray for and makes a lot of sense. But, the other day he prayed, "And, help save pumpkins." All those poor pumpkins.

3. We took Isaac and Luke on the Alpine slide & coaster. Or as Luke calls it, the pine tree slide. They had been so excited to do this for a while, and we finally found a moment to go before it closed for the season. Luke's quote before going, "I not going to freak out on the pine tree slide. It's super big fun... huge fun!" They loved the chairlift ride up. Isaac thought the snowmakers were fascinating and we had a wonderful discussion about how they work (or think they work). On the way home Isaac was saying that his favorite part was the coaster. Then he asked Luke what his favorite part was, to which Luke replied, "The clouds."


4. Adam and I celebrated our 8th anniversary last week. We didn't do anything too exciting - just went out to dinner. In fact we had to do that early, since Adam had to work on our anniversary. But, we're cool with keeping things pretty low key. It is a good time to reflect on just how blessed I am, though. I love Adam more than anyone I know, but I'm glad I still like him and enjoy spending time with him. We have seen each other at our worst, but we are united in the same goal, which gives us the strength to press forward. I'm thankful for these past 8 years and all the blessings that we have been given.

5. Random pics of the week:

Asa is really into wearing hats right now. Usually they are too big, so they cover his face while he crawls around, giggling.