Mirage

Today, as I was rocking Bennett to sleep for his nap, a little bit of sun was shining in our window after a brief snow storm. As I stared out into the dreary day, my mind wandered to this place...

Found this beauty of a picture here.
I imagined myself laying on a beach, reading a book, maybe even falling asleep. Oh, how I want to go to a place like this someday!

Must have been my sleep deprivation taking over.

Good Friends

Last night I went with some friends to our monthly card night. It was great to hang out and visit while making something cute at the same time! I am so sad to be leaving Vermont and these wonderful friends. Saying goodbye is going to be so hard. This picture was taken about a year ago. Some of these girls have already moved and the rest of us will be moving on in May. (Picture courtesy of Vanessa!)

Gospel Learning

I failed to post yesterday for 'project happiness'. I'm making up for it by telling about these two things!!
Niah learned about tithing yesterday. Together, we counted up her money from her piggy bank and had a lesson about paying tithing. (Yes, that really is all her money! She has been saving up from birthdays and other things.) She couldn't wait to give her tithing to Daddy at church. (He's in the bishopric, in case you were wondering why he got it!) This is just another step in her growing up! I'm so proud of her for wanting to pay her tithing and to be obedient.
If you don't know what tithing is and would like to know more, click here.

After a long day of exhaustion and frustration of being a mom, I decided to tackle my new and very dreaded calling of being a Relief Society teacher. Getting in the scriptures and preparing my lesson really cured my worries of the day. I am very grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm not sure I could survive every day without the knowledge I have of our Savior's love for me and my family. What a blessing that is to me!!

Sunshine

"I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing, when they, who are so fresh from God, love us." -Charles Dickens





We had a photo shoot today while the sun was out.
These little people are my sunshine and joy!

Project Happiness

My sister saw a clip on the Today Show about finding happiness in the little things. You could say there has been a bit of the winter blues in our house, so I am joining my sister in her 'project happiness'! Go here to read her blog about it and to see a clip from the Today show.
The winter time seems to make people feel down, but it doesn't have to. We make our own happiness! The project is to do one thing every day for a week or so (or as long as you want!) that makes you happy then you can post about it. I can't promise I'll post every day, but I'll try.

Here's what I did today...
We got a spinning bike for Christmas. I love to bike and I used to do it a lot. It feels so good to get on and sweat and work hard! This is what made me happy today.

What will you do?!

6 Months

My sweet baby is 6 months old now. He is such a joy to have in our home. His smile just makes me melt. Bennett's happy personality is contagious! He brightens any room. He is sitting up now, eating some solid foods, rolling all over the house, and even getting up on his hands and knees. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet!!

He loves his sisters. They can make him giggle like no one else. He loves to dance with Mom to any music. He loves music, if we turn on the music it calms him when he's upset. He doesn't like to ride in the car when it's dark. We have to turn on the light inside the car.

At his Dr. appointment he weighed 16 lbs. 14 ozs. His chubby thighs and all over rolls are irresistible! I love them. He's very attached to me. I love that he loves me so much, I just wish he could do without me in the middle of the night!

Love you lots little Benny Boo!

Birthday Celebration

Meet Steve

Steve Harold Mason is the newest member of our family! Niah's friend Gracie (and her family) gave Niah a fish for her birthday. After changing his name a couple of times, Niah decided Steve Harold was the best name. The girls love him.

We are excited to have our first family pet!

Five

My little Niah is five years old today. I really can't believe it! Where has the time gone?! She is the sweetest thing and has such a cute and funny personality.
She had a great year with lots of new, exciting adventures. I've picked out some of my favorite pictures from the past year. I love you lots Niah and I am so proud to be your momma. As Niah would say, "Let's party on!!"

So Proud

Niah learned how to tie her shoes yesterday. She is so proud of herself, as am I ! She figured it out in a matter of minutes.

Good job Niah!!

Splendiferous Tea Party

Since me and the kids had nothing to do today but play and hang out, I decided to get the girls and myself dressed up for a tea party. My mom discovered Fancy Nancy while we were there and Chloe LOVES 'Dancy Nancy'. For Christmas, my mom gave Chloe the Fancy Nancy Tea Parties book and darling tea set to go with it. It took some convincing to get Niah to join us, but she did and we had a blast! I tried talking in an English accent but Niah didn't think that was very cool. I was told many times to "stop talking like that, you're bugging me!"

Chloe had to have her hair curled with clippies, ribbons, and headbands- just like Fancy Nancy.

Yes, even Bennett got in on the action! He loved the feathers on my boa and he liked to eat the beads on our necklaces.

It was a splendiferous tea party and the girls can't wait to do it again.

Playing Catch-Up

We are back home in Vermont now. It's good to be home and the kids seem to be adjusting back to our normal routine. We had a great time in Utah. Spending so much time with family was really wonderful. There were so many pictures from our Christmas that I couldn't do a post with all of them, so I put together a collage with some of my favorites. Thanks to both of our families for showing us a good time while we were in Utah. We miss you terribly and can't wait to see you again- hopefully sooner rather than later! Vermont got hammered with a big storm so we went out to play- some of the pictures are included in the collage. Check out how high the snow is- the girls loved playing in it!
Now that we are in our own house, I hope to get back to a normal blogging schedule. I missed it!