Happy Birthday Samuel

Inside you boy
There's an old man sleepin',


Dreamin', waitin' for his chance...


So keep on playin',

Keep on runnin',

Keep on jumpin', til the day

That those old folks
Down inside you
Wake up... and come out to play


Poem adapted from The Folks Inside by Shel Silverstein (book: Falling Up)

Too Country

I love me some country music. I mean, I really love it. The lyrics are refreshing, original, and down-to earth. My favorite love songs come from country music.

I know country gets a bad rap - but I bet most of you are country lovers, even if you don't want to admit it. And people like to say that you don't have to be able to sing to be a country star, but some of the best singers are country. Besides, do I need to mention rap?

Summertime brings out the country girl in me - so here are some of my favs. Now all I need is some fried chicken, okra, and lemonade. Yummm.

Before & After

A couple of pics of our house. I got the kids rooms done except for wall decor. Here is the before:


Samuel's room


Lillian's room

And after (we painted Samuel's a light blue and Lillian's a light pink - I'm in love with the colors).



Samuel's room


Lillian's room

Samuel goes to a Mother's Day Out program once a week and he made me this:

My first homemade Mother's Day gift!

And just a little picture of my beautiful family:

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

We bought a house!!

Closed on it last Monday. Painted and packed like crazy people and moved in Saturday. We are all feeling rather exhausted but excited to have a home we can call our own.


I feel so grown-up.

Dancing in the rain

It's been a slow day. Gray and cloudy. Then it started to rain and there was only one thing to do:






Dancin' and playin' in the rain.


Getting warm and dry. I had hot chocolate and Samuel had chocolate milk as a treat. Lillian just watched us, safe from the rain, in fascination.

For Whitney

Whitney has claimed that I don't put enough pictures on my blog of Lillian. I guess I can't really argue, it just seems to take so much time. So, here are some pics and a video of our adorable girl. I also need to update pictures of my charming little boy who is growing up so fast. He's just not my baby anymore, so sad. :( So, here's for you Whit.


Samuel and Lillian hanging out on the couch.



Lillian showing off her cute dress!

And she can do the Elvis Presley lip thing! Yep, definitely my daughter.


Here's Lillian being a Badger!

vis a vis: http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/

Quarterly Report

Remember my New Year goals? Well, I'm proud to inform you I've since run a marathon, completed my Masters degree and read the entire Bible (yes, even all the begats). Just kidding - April Fools.

In all reality, this first quarter of the year has been mainly survival mode. With a newborn and a 1.5 year old, life has been lived day-to-day. I'm happy to report that each day gets better and our family is definitely getting it's "groove" back. Samuel regularly showers Lillian with kisses, Lillian regularly smiles and coos at me, and Carlin and I have plenty of hugs and kisses to share with everyone.

Spiritually, I have started reading the corresponding lessons for Relief Society each week and find that I am getting more out of Church this way.

For my intellectual growth I read "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It was a Christmas gift from Carlin's brother and sister-in-law and I loved it. Seriously one of the best books I've read in a while. I loved reading an honest, unbiased look at the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It sends a strong message of how important it is to educate people, especially the women of these nations. I am all for education - especially of women and think all women, no matter their nationality, should improve their minds through study and education. I've also started to experiment in the kitchen which leads me to my last goal... physical development.

For this last goal I've studied the Word of Wisdom (a law of health that the LDS church follows). As I've studied I've realized there is more to it than just "don't drink or smoke." It says to "eat meat sparingly" and to not do more than you are capable. With this in mind I have tried to cut meat out of our daily diet, finding "vegetarian" meals to supplement. Beans have just as much protein as meat and are over all a little healthier for you. I've slowly been introducing non-meat meals to our menu and we have been eating lots of vegetables, fruits, and beans. Overall, I'm feeling much healthier and have watched the scale drop a few more pounds. I've also started taking a Yoga class which I find both invigorating and relaxing as it gets me out of the house and strengthens my body. Keeping in mind that I shouldn't push myself too hard, I am easing my way back into exercising. Two c-sections in a year and a half really does a number to your body!

Thanks for reading this post if you've made it this far. I'll report more as the year goes on.