Flashback Friday - Zack Loves Me

When I was about 6 months pregnant with Lexi, Aaron recorded this little video for me. It was on his phone, so the quality isn't that great, but he did this so he could send it to me at work. It was a really good pick-me-up for the day.

I still keep this little darling on my phone so I can refer to it anytime I'm having a rough day. Who can resist that cute little voice, "I love you very much, Mommy!"? Sometimes just knowing that we are loved by those around us can help us more than we realize.

Family Pictures

Every year around our anniversary, Aaron and I like to update the family pictures. We wanted to get some outdoor photos this time, and to save money and the stress of finding a professional photographer, we decided to ask my sister Britta to take them for us. She's been taking some Photoshop classes to help her with her digital scrapbooking and it's really paying off, and she's starting to be a better photographer from it as well!

We planned on Wheeler Farm for the pictures. We had to reschedule twice. The first time because I ordered the wrong size for Zack's shirt, and had to send it back. The second because it was rainy and crappy out, and for outdoor pictures I wanted it to be sunny and green and beautiful. This week it most definitely was sunny and green and beautiful!

My other wonderful sister Charlene and her friend Buffy came along to help keep the kidlets entertained and smiling for the pictures. It's a good thing we brought them along, because we needed all the help we could get. Despite having two naps Lexi was distressed at the slightest things. She had a rough time sitting still for anything but her personal shots. If anyone tried to touch her, especially Zack, she freaked out. This made things quite difficult to get a good shot of the kids together. But Britta did a fabulous job with what we had!

Whenever I look at Zack in pictures, I wonder when he could possibly have grown up. What a little stud! He is going to be one heartbreaker when he gets older.

When Britta got home she started downloading the pictures onto her computer, she had over 900 shots! After deleting all the crying, screaming or otherwise bad shots, she was down to 205. I've only put a selection of my favorites here, but I am so grateful to her for getting so many wonderful pictures to just have for our albums.

Thank you Britta! You did an AMAZING job! (And I can't wait to see the edited versions.)

And thank you Charlene and Buffy! We really couldn't have done so well without you.

Our New Member of the Family

After months of anticipation we were finally able to bring our new little one home. He has blonde hair and deep brown eyes. He has already shown a love for his brother and sister, and is very affectionate. He loves to cuddle and sleeps A LOT.
We're pretty excited about this bouncy new bundle, all the way down to his furry tail.

Welcome to the family, Bolt!

Sunday Races

Zack loves to watch anyone play Mario Kart. His love of Mario has started manifesting on Sunday mornings. Every week we load Lexi into the stroller and walk the block to church. Zack likes to push the stroller and race to church. He is always Mario, and he designates who everyone else is. Lexi is usually Princess Peach. I'm sure she is happy with that. Aaron and I usually bounce between Luigi and Yoshi. Once he gets to church he expresses his joy of winning the race. This morning he took it a step further, and on the way over he kept turning around to "throw things" at the racers behind us. Then when we got across the street he ran ahead of us, and when we reached the doors, he turned around and told us, "I was really fast with all the colors!" He apparently won the race with a Star. It was pretty funny. He makes me laugh every day.

Teaching Opportunities

One of the wonders of watching children grow, is watching them learn. And they love it! They soak up information like little ShamWows.

Last night as Zack and I were reading a bedtime story, (Which is one of our favorites. EVERYONE should own this book for their kiddos!) he asked what Pisa is. So I told him after the story I could show him on a map where it was. The internet is a wonderful tool to have for just such an occasion! I pulled up a map of the globe and first showed him where we were. Then I showed him where Pisa is, and Giza (which was also in his story), and Hawaii, where Mom and Dad went on their trip. He pointed at various countries asking, "What's that one?" We looked at that map for about 10 minutes talking about different countries and who we've known that's been there.
Then he asked me where the Tickle Monster is from. I told him the Tickle Monster is from another planet. "I want to see some planets!" I was so excited to pull up pictures of our solar system and take the time to tell him the names of all of them. (He especially liked Pluto, and I didn't have the heart to tell him it isn't a planet anymore.) I love these little one-on-one teaching moments with my little genius!

Spring Storms

Zack frequently fights quiet time. But usually once he's in his room with the door shut he will play for hours even after we tell him he can come out. Last week I put Lexi down for a nap and Zack in his room for quiet time and headed out to finally do some Easter Bunny shopping, since Aaron was home. After I got home I was telling Zack that we needed to clean up so we could dye eggs. He was excited about the eggs, but not so much about cleaning up.

I can see why he didn't want to clean up. This was going to take forever! It seems a tornado came through during quiet time. I thought the nasty spring storms were only outside.

Uplifting Conference

Life gets so crazy sometimes. Crazy enough that we forget to take care of ourselves every now and then. I missed both of Saturday's General Conference sessions, and Sunday morning I was determined to get some Conference in. I am so glad I did that. Sunday morning's session was FABULOUS! It was filled with messages of love and hope and forgiveness. It was calming for me to sit and listen while Lexi napped and Zack watched a movie on the computer. It's also nice to have a DVR so that I can pause when I need to to take care of the kids. What a wonderful invention! I can take care of my kids and still catch everything!

My favorite talk of the session was President Uchtdorf's talk. I adore him! His messages are always so uplifting. Yesterday he spoke of Love and showing love, compassion and understanding to all around us. This is a subject that I have felt strongly about and has weighed heavily on my mind for quite some time. I enjoyed his talk so much that I don't want to wait for the Ensign to come out next month to enjoy it again, so I got online this morning and listened to it all over again. A few of my favorite quotes:
"I hope that we welcome and love all of God's children. Including those who might dress, look, speak or just do things differently."
"It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient."
"I am not suggesting that we accept sin or overlook evil in our personal life or the world. Nevertheless, in our zeal we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and condemn too quickly and with too little compassion."
"We cannot gauge the worth of another soul anymore than we can measure the span of the Universe."
"Everyone is walking his or her own difficult path."
"It is unworthy of us as Christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffering."
"Let us love at all times. Let us especially be there for our brothers and sisters in their time of adversity."

I have always felt that we need to love and support everyone, even when we disagree with their beliefs or actions. I love to listen to an Apostle of our Lord confirm that Love is the only effective way to communicate across all differences, and that we do need to distinguish between the sinner and the sin. Too much of society in general wants to condemn those that don't agree with their own values, beliefs and opinions. And it is so prevalent on the internet, where people feel so safe in their anonymity. I'm tired of those who say if you can't take the insults, or if you find offense in a statement, then you need to stay off the internet. Just because things are done a certain way, and have been for some time, doesn't mean that it is right, or that it needs to stay that way.
I feel that we need to take this talk from President Uchtdorf and live the principles he set forth. Let's be positive influences to those around us. Make a change in how you see and treat people, and we can make a difference in how others see and treat us. A little kindness and respect can go a looooong way!