Play Date

In preperation for Valentines we had a little sugar cookie decorating play date. Hyrum had a lot of fun playing with his friend from nursery. They were all so diligent at 'squishing' the frosting on the cookies. And here's a big shout out to Pampered Chef's Decorator Bottle Sets which I LOVE!!!!This is Hyrum's "I'm busy, but I'll smile just because I have to" look

No more ignorance

. . ."S" is a really cute 13 year old that I was really impressed with because of her outgoing personality, cute smile, and all around nice nature. She babysat for us a while ago when Brett and I went to see a late showing of Harry Potter. I had no problem trusting her. Even though she was so young, I knew that our boys were in good hands. (Of course the fact that they were asleep the whole time helped too).
. . .We tried to get her to come over this weekend so Brett and I could go on an early Valentines date. I was visiting with another lady and mentioned my struggles in getting "S". She had an obvious uncomfortable look on her face and froze. After I asked her if she was okay she just said, "Don't ever have 'S' babysit." I asked her why and she didn't want to tell me and be 'gossipy'. I was concerned that maybe she had been stealing things or something, so I insisted that she tell me why, because she had already been in our home babysitting. I was shocked and disgusted to find out that my friend used to use her all the time until they came home an hour early one night from their date. They discovered that "S" was using their bedroom for immoral extra-curricular activities with her boyfriend. In disgust she mentioned it to a neighbor of hers, who also used her to babysit, and they said they had strong suspicions but no real proof of the same thing happening in their home, and so they stopped calling her.
. . .I had a hard time sleeping that night. I kept running through the night that she babysat for us in my head. The comment I made to her when she got here was that she looked so cute and (teasingly) didn't have to get dressed up just to come babysit. The fact that when we got home she was clumsily flipping through a book and said that she had been reading the whole time (in a badly lit room) Everything just made me sick! I NEVER would have suspected anything. This sweet little Beehive may have allowed evil to come into our home, and I didn't know. It makes me so sad for this little girl and the woman she is becoming. My family is to important to me to ever have this happen again. I've learned a few things that I hope will help you too:

1. Never tell your babysitter when you'll be home. (Surprise is your best alliance - be vague: "We know we'll be home before 11, but we haven't decided what we'll do yet, so we may only be gone for a little bit"
2. Call while you're out to check in. Ask specific questions and be listening for any cue's that something may be up.
3. Get people to babysit that have been referred (that's still not a guarantee since "S" was referred to us, but it's a start)
4. Set clear rules for the babysitter. "No one else is allowed in this house. Please stay off the phone until the kids are in bed, etc.)

I will do anything to keep these boys safe and pure for as long as possible:

Here it is

Welcome to my day. . . this is what it looked like:self inflicted time out (you know he's sick when he gets on the stool and cries until you set the timer for two minutes.) Feel better soon, because you're driving me crazy. . . do I whine this much when I'm sick? (Don't answer that question, Brett:)This little project has been keeping me sane. I'm making an alphabet book for the boys. Thank you scrabble!

The Zieglers

On Thursday we drove up to Mt. Green to visit my sister Holly and her family. The boys had so much fun with their cousins. It was a perfect day to be there, because even though there was a lot of snow out, the weather was warm (maybe not for our AZ friends. . . but for us) and beautiful!Today however, was a sad day. Noah has been sick for a few days and extremely cranky. Today Hyrum woke up and got into bed with us with a fever. . . he finally threw up in the afternoon and then started to feel better. Anyway, he basically watched movies most of the day. After his bath he insisted on: "Wrap up!" and so this is how he watched Toy Story II.And now I get to relax:PS. After a visit to the Dr's office yesterday I learned that when a babies diet consists of apples, bananas, chicken noodle soup, cucumbers, and milk it is okay if their poop is white. In case you wanted to know:)

Our Life in Pictures

Two of my favorite boys asleep for a long winters nap.Noah's favorite horsie!I love cooking. . . but I learned today that if I'm busy at the stove don't leave a newspaper on the table. Dinner only took 30 minutes to make. . . it only took 15 minutes before Noah was on my leg and Hyrum was reeking havoc. Dinner was still worth it. I can either have a spotless house, or a yummy dinner and a clean house later. . . I prefer the latter. Go food!:)Who says little kids can't help with housework! A few mornings ago Hyrum gathered these together and made this beauty. When he put the apple on the top he said "Moroni! Temple!" He's so funny. We have a great view of the temple out the window and so he loves building and drawing temples.

My lost friend

Yesterday morning I was blowing my hair dry when out of nowhere it blew up. It was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced. I've gone through a hairdressers share of blow dryers. . . and I've never even heard of this happening. It was a travel size blow dryer, that I've been using for the past few months because my regular blow dryer is being very temperamental (sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't). Anyway, out of nowhere there was a pop noise and pieces just blew out. Spontaneous combustion? Little pieces were all over the bathroomThank you for making my hair smooth and dry. You will be missed.

Things that are important

This morning the boys and I were playing in the basement, and I was overwhelmed with love for them and sorrow for all of the torn families in Haiti. I felt sympathy for those Mothers searching for their children, alone and afraid. I thought of the scripture in Jeremiah 31:15 that says:

“Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”

I have never experienced anything in my life that would cause me true, deep sorrow, and I hope I never will. This horrific event has made me really think about what I have and what is most important to me. These people had little to claim as their own other than family, and now many people have lost even that. How do they go on? How can they start over? I hope to never have to answer those questions for myself.

I sit on a comfortable couch, in front of our flat screen TV in our big warm house. Our movie collection needs to be re-alphabetized, my closet needs to be re-organized, and my hair needs to be colored . . . all stuff that, when it really comes down to it doesn’t matter. The most important thing right now is gratitude. I am filled with love for my Lord and Savior, and for the Faith that I have in Him and his ultimate grace that will save me when I stand before my Eternal Father and offer Him what I am and the best efforts I have put forward. In that day I will stand alone without worldly possessions, without the clutter of ‘to-do’ lists. My one companion and help when all else is left behind will be Jesus and I am grateful to know Him and believe in Him. I am filled with love and gratitude for Brett and our two beautiful boys. They are everything to me. Brett is my Eternal Companion, help, guide, and friend. With the event of the earthquake in Haiti I realize that I spend the majority of my time doing or talking about the ‘stuff’ that just doesn’t matter and I want to be sure that I spend more time each day on the essentials of true happiness. With that said I encourage anyone who reads this to take some time to thank God in prayer for all that you have. When the fast food line is going to slow, when commercials are taking too long, or when the internet isn’t connecting quite fast enough . . . please pause and be grateful.

I had to explain to Hyrum why I started to cry while we were playing this morning. I told him we needed to stop and pray for some friends far away that have owies and can’t find their Mommies or Daddies. We knelt and prayed for them. Remember the people of Haiti in your prayers too.