Smiling This Sunday!!

Hmm....let's see.  What in the world would I have to smile about today? ;)

Our precious Cohen Paul made his grand entrance into the world on Wednesday, March 27th at 9:41 p.m.!  He was born at 35 weeks 3 days, weighing 6 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  Absolutely perfect in every way.  The delivery went so smoothly, once I was fully dilated I pushed through a few contractions and our little caboose was here :)

Because he was so early, he had to spend 6 hours in the NICU to make sure he could breathe on his own, take a bottle, and keep his body temps up.  He was a champ, and after a few minutes struggling with that whole breathing thing he figured it all out, and came back to my room around 3:00 that morning.

Yep, that's me at 3:00 in the morning snuggling my little man.  What a miracle he is to me!

We were so blessed to BOTH be able to go home 2 days later...doesn't he look so teeny in that big car seat?!  I am so incredibly blessed with healthy preemie babies that beat all the odds!

We've been home for 2 days and it has been fantastic!!  Everyone is absolutely smitten with out little man, and last night he even let me get 4 hours of sleep at a time ;)  I feel wonderful and am so excited to have my whole family together and be able to be mommy again.  Don't get me wrong...its totally crazy here, but I love it.  We took ALL the kids to an Easter Egg hunt yesterday and it was crazy to be a family of 7 ;)

This Easter Sunday my heart is so full.  As I look around at my not-so-little-family, I love them so much sometimes it takes my breath away.  Then I think of the love my Heavenly Father feels for all of US...so much so that he gave us a Savior, His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  Because of that one incredible act of love, I can be with these people that I love so much forever.  So much to smile about today indeed :)

This Easter Sunday I hope you are feeling all the love and peace our Savior offers to us!

Smiling This Sunday!

 We made it to 35 weeks people!!!  If that's not enough reason to smile, I don't know WHAT is!

What that means is I am officially off bed rest, and can be mommy again to my crazy brood.  I have also entered the phase where I have to get up and get ready every day...because every day could be BABY DAY and seriously, I have 4 pregnancies worth of terrible delivery pictures!  Maybe I'll get lucky and actually have run a brush through my hair the day we have Cohen ;)

Every night this last week this is what I saw before I went to bed :)  My husband has been in Europe for over a week....yeah, not great timing!  Luckily, I have amazing family to help me with the little ones but my big girls stayed home with me.  I HATE when Paul is gone and can never sleep good so I bribed the girls to sleep on the floor in my room all week.  They looked so sweet and innocent snuggled up together...love these girls!!

Finally these two little sweeties!  Like I said, I have an amazing family!  Between my MIL and SIL, they have had my youngest two for 9 days...I cannot believe how much I miss them.  Since Paul flies in from Portugal tonight they finally get to come HOME :)

I am definitely smiling this Sunday!

Things may be a little sporadic around here for the next little bit, but I'm hoping to get another week or two before the little man arrives, and if so I have some fun Easter and General Conference ideas I would love to share.

So I ask you...what things are YOU smiling about in your life today???

Smiling This Sunday!

 Happy Sunday to everyone!!

As I'm trying to take it easy, I think these Smiling This Sunday posts are even more important for me :)  I HATE not being able to do all the things I want/need to do for my family.  I know in the big scheme of things its such a short amount of time, and I need to keep perspective...anything is worth it to get baby Cohen here safely and healthy.

First thing making me smile this week?  These two little monsters!

I absolutely love this picture.  You can tell Britton is totally humoring Avrie and she is having the time of her life.  I have been amazed at how my little kids have stepped up to take care of each other.  Don't get me wrong...they fight ALL the time, but these sweet moments assure me they actually love each other ;)

We have a very fun tradition in our family called The Valentine's Man.  Every year on Valentines the Valentines Man comes to our house and leaves little gifts on the doorstep for the kids.  It is so fun, because you never know how many times he is going to come or when he is going to come.  All of the sudden, a loud KNOCK will sound at the door, and everyone goes running!! :)  It is my favorite tradition from growing up and I love passing it on to my kids.  This year the kiddos all got new pj's...Angry Birds all around! :)

Like I mentioned....I have been SO impressed at how my family is stepping it up around here :)  In some ways this time is a blessing, I am seeing things I didn't think my kids were capable of and I will definitely be allowing them more responsibility.  I wish I had a picture of the person that is keeping us all together right now...my husband!  He is amazing.  I know I am so lucky to have him.

The last thing making me smile today....

I'm finally getting ready to do Cohen's nursery!!  It took me forever to decide what I wanted but eventually I found this awesome airplane bedding on Etsy, hopefully it will be here by the end of the month.  Aren't those little airplanes just the cutest???

I also ordered these perfect airplane decals from my favorite vinyl shop Janey-Mac.  I am so excited for everything to come so we can get it all put together and ready for our new little man!

There you have it...just a few things keeping me smiling this week?

Now its YOUR turn!  What is just ONE thing that is making you smile today...I would LOVE to hear!!

Smiling this Sunday!

 

Hello everyone, and Happy Sunday!!

I hope you all had a fantastic week...here is a little peak into our lives and few things that are making me smile :)

These two cuties are more than a little excited to be starting dance this week...they were born to dance :)

WEEKS ago an amazingly talented friend of mine helped me pick out fabric and sewed some curtains for my front room.  I have been bugging Paul non-stop to hang them up and he finally did yesterday.  Every time I walk in I get a huge smile on my face, it totally changed the whole look of the room.

 

I have been on a mission at our house to cut out a lot of TV and computer time.  It has been so easy when I feel sick or tired to just let my kids watch nonstop shows and play games, but I don't like the spirit or attitude that brings into our home.  This was on Friday, at 6:30 that night when we pulled out the computer for the FIRST time that day...and we hadn't had the TV on either!  It was a rough few days getting the kids used to not constantly having them on, but I can already feel a change in our house and I am loving it!

Today this little girl is REALLY making me smile!  Last night we moved her into her big girl bed...and boy was I nervous!  She loved her crib and went down every night and naptime without a peep.  I was so scared to give that up!! ;)  However, this little cutie was fantastic and went to sleep last night without a single cry.  She came straight home from church today and crawled into her bed and is still napping right now!  I am SO grateful its looking like this will be a smooth transition, I don't know if I have the energy to battle her ;)

Finally, my cute big girl making pancakes for us this morning.  The last few weeks I have really been working on some cooking basics with her.  The realities of our life are that I will probably go on bed rest in the next month or two and I thought it would be so great if she could help out in the kitchen.  She spent the morning perfecting her pancake-flipping :)  I always tell her I couldn't have more babies if I didn't have such a big helper like her...she is my angel.

So many simple things to smile about this week...I hope you are finding lots and lots to smile about in your life too :)

Smiling this Sunday...kicking off 2013 right!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot believe what a HUGE slacker I have been on my Smiling this Sunday posts!!

 

I love taking time to Sunday to reflect back on the week and think of all the big and little moments that made me smile.  I truly believe there is SO much good in the world...if we are willing to open up our eyes and look for it!

 

Here is a little peak into our lives the last week and a few things that made me smile :)

 

 

This was my little party girl SO excited to go to our annual family New Year's Eve party!  Notice all the necklaces she is wearing?  She spent all day making a necklace for each one of her girl cousins.  I love how thoughtful and kind Skylar is, and how much she loves her family.

 

 

 

My darling sisters-in-law threw the cutest Circus themed party...and one area was a dress-up station with a photo booth.  Of course, Kendall went right for anything pink and sparkly :)  I love this girls sass!

 

 

 

Britton saw the huge bucket of Cotton Candy and KNEW it was going to be a great night!!

 

 

 

Some VERY talented members of the family took on the face-painting station...look at my darling zebra!!

 

 

 

Me and my guy at midnight...so excited for another new year together!!

 

 

Until the kids went back to school we had a great time playing with all the fun things the kids got for Christmas...especially this amazing coloring book Skylar got.  It is so ornate, we spent an hour on just one page.  SO fun!!

 

 

The day before the kids went back to school we had a Movie Day!!  Its so cute how the littlest things can make your kids so happy.  They all brought down their new chairs, blankets and pillows, and once they had their popcorn we were ready to go!  I was amazed...they watched the whole movie...all of them!! 

 

 

 

Unfortunately for Paul, I have hit the nesting phase of this pregnancy BIG-TIME!!  With Baby Cohen joining our family we have to rearrange almost all the kids rooms, and we decided to move our playroom downstairs to our unfinished basement so we could move Britton upstairs next to the girls.  This meant we had some major work to make the basement safe for little ones...tell me I'm not the only one with a basement like this?!  ;)

 

 

 

After a full week of spending hours here and there, ALL day on New Years, multiple trips to the DI and the dump...it is finally finished!!  Isn't it beautiful!!  Now we just need to move the toys down and the kids will have their new, huge, play room!!

 

The last thing making me smile today is that I am 24 weeks along!!  I am so grateful to be feeling so much better then I was at the beginning, and I am getting really excited to meet our little man.  I hope the next few months go by quickly without much excitement ;)  Our babies always try to come too early, so bed rest could be in the near future, but as long as it gets them here healthy I really can't complain :)

 

SOOOO....what are some things that are making you smile this beautiful Sunday?? :)

 

Smiling this Sunday!

Even though we had a really great week, and there are a LOT of things I am smiling about today, one thing makes me smile the most...

Yesterday I finished the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon!  Oh man...it was SO hard!  I thought I had trained well enough, but I definitely could have done a lot more.  I was a little dissapointed that I had to stop and walk a few times, but still proud that I finished that crazy thing!!

 

This is my favorite picture.  I felt SO sick and was about to throw up when I saw my family at the finish line :)  Best feeling ever!

My sister-in-law Jen ran it with me.  She is a rockstar.  Without any training she was pulling my butt the whole way!  I am so glad she was with me to keep me going!

My other sister-in-law Camille (another amazing runner in my family) was at the finish line with homemade signs...I really have the best family ever!  And I don't know HOW I didn't get a picture of you Camille!

Paul was amazing.  He woke up super early, got all 4 kids ready and drove them all almost an hour to sit in the sun and wait for me reach the finish line.  Meant the world to me that he would support me so much.

My dear friend Hollie also brought her whole family to cheer me on.  Plus she took all these fantastic pictures...I am a lucky girl indeed.

What an experience!  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I reached my goal and finished under 2 1/2 hours (not by much...but still!)  If you would have asked me yesterday, I would have said I will never do that again...but today I am already thinking I might HAVE to do it again to try and finish one a little bit stronger :)

Today I am smiling because I did something I never thought I could do...and most importantly TOLD myself I could never do.  Thanks to all my wonderful friends and family that could "BEE" with me every step of the way ;)

Have a great Sunday everyone!!

Smiling this Sunday!

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

I haven't done a Smiling this Sunday post forever, so I thought it was time to recap a few things that made me smile this last week :)

Since it was MOSTLY beautiful weather all last week, we spent a few days and evenings at the park. Luckily for us...they built this amazing monstrosity just a few minutes away from our house!

It is pretty much the coolest park ever. There are a million different things for the kids to do, I don't think they would ever get bored here. I loved seeing my kids play with their cousins, each other, and new friends for hours on end!

This one REALLY makes me smile :)

Doesn't this totally remind you of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer has the Japanese business men sleeping in his drawers?! Totally cracks me up! He really was trying to convince me to let him take his nap in there...

Finally....my little bug. She is pulling herself up on everything now, and when I am working on my computer this is what I am constantly seeing :) She is such a joy to me.

So I'd love to know...what made you smile this week?! I am striving SO hard to focus on all the GOOD in my life...and there truly is so much, when I'm willing to look for it :)

Have a wonderful Sunday and stop back soon for some really fun flower activities and a new Family Home Evening!

Smiling this Sunday

Hello all!! :)

Welcome to another Smiling this Sunday. I am loving looking back on my week and seeing what kinds of things, big and small, have made me smile!

First up...my not-so-little-anymore Avrie.

This girl is on the move! We are in that great stage of having to vacuum the floor 10 times a day, and making sure ALL the doors are always closed, and enjoying watching her curiosity.

Her favorite place to get into? The pantry!!

When I walked into the kitchen earlier in the week I saw this...

Yeah...looking a LITTLE mischievious I would say!

Then I walked a little bit further and saw THIS...

I tell you...she is TROUBLE! But much too cute for me to mind the mess...at least very much ;)

Next up...:)

In a temporary moment of insanity I signed up to run a half marathon in April. Now you're probably thinking, "Cool. Lots of people run half marathons." Well...I don't! I have NEVER been able to run. Honestly...never really wanted too. But after I had my 4th baby I decided I really wanted to get fit, not just thin. My original goal was to be able to run 3 miles. This was pretty big for me because the longest I had EVER been able to go before was 2. So I set the goal for myself and accomplished it back in October. Once I did that I was able to push it to 4. My awesome sis-in-law that is a fantastic runner kept telling me " Once you run 6 miles...you can do anything". Did I believe her?! Not really :) But...I wanted to find out if she was right. In November I worked my way up 6 miles and felt SO great! I decided to give myself more of a push I would sign up for a half marathon and start a training program. This brings me to what made me smile this week....

Yesterday I completed my first 10 mile run! According to my schedule, that is the longest run you need to do before your race. For me...I'm going to do at least one 12 mile run, just to give me the confidence, but I am almost there!

I still don't love running. My knees always hurt after and I ALWAYS want to quit right around 2 miles. But I am learning that I CAN do hard things. I am learning to push myself harder than I thought I could. And it feels good :)

Finally, I got THE coolest surprise this week!

One day my doorbell rang and there was a huge box on my doorstep. It was from Amazon and I immediately got irritated that my husband bought something ;)

When I opened it up THIS is what I found...

A Ninja blender!! Have you seen these thing?! They are SO awesome! It can do juicing, smoothies, make dough...the list goes on and on!

But the coolest part was the note inside, it simply said "From Dad...just because I love you"

How cool is that?! My dad sent us this awesome blender...just because :) I'm a very lucky girl.

SO...now its YOUR turn! What is making you smile this beautiful Sunday? :)

Smiling this Sunday

Happy Sunday Everyone!!

There are so many things that are making me smile this week, but I wanted to share just a few.

If we are talking about things that make me smile, you can bet my kids will usually be at the top of my list. I've been trying to hard lately to turn off the tv, step away from the computer and just BE with them. It is amazing how funny, imaginative and CUTE they are! :) Most nights after we eat dinner the 3 older kids get into their "excercise clothes" and come downstairs. They then run wild around the house for at least 30 minutes, chasing each other, doing somersaults, tackling daddy, and more. It is such a silly litle thing, but I love how much fun they have and picturing them in their little "excercise" outifts always makes me smile (especially Britton in his swimsuit!;)

I LOVE Valentines Day! The fact that it is only 2 days away brings a huge smile to my face. In my family growing up, we always got visits from the Valentine's Man after dinner on Valentines Day. The Valentines Man knocks on your door, but when you answer it he is NEVER there! BUT...he always leaves little gifts for the kids. The fun part is...you never know how many times he is going to come! The gifts he brings are small, but the fun and excitement are HUGE! This is probably my favorite holiday tradition we had growing up, and I love sharing it now with my kids too.

Finally, participating in Service Bootcamp is bringing a HUGE smile to my face today! This week I have tried every day to do a small act of service. It has been so interesting as I am learning...the service is blessing me probably more than those I am actually serving. Some of my acts of service have been bigger, and some have been terribly small, but each has taught me something.

Last Tuesday I woke up at 5 like I do every weekday morning to go to the gym. After the gym I hurried over to Walmart to pick up a few things before I had to be home so Paul could get to work. I was rushing so I wouldn't be home late, and specifically went to the NO coupon register. I know that Tuesday is double coupon day so I knew I would be late if I got stuck behind someone with coupons. I run over to the register with the big no coupon sign...only to be stuck in line behind a girl with about a MILLION coupons! I'm not gonna lie...I was irritated. I don't like this about myself, but when I get like that, I tend to get kind of bratty and passive aggresive. I'm never outright mean, but I make it pretty obvious I am bugged (NOT my finest quality, for SURE!) As I stood there, the thought came to me, "This is your opportunity for service today. Instead of being grumpy and snotty, you will treat this girl kindly." SO small, right?! The crazy thing was, I started talking to the girl and she was in some serious need of a little kindness at that moment. She apologized profusely, told me that they had told her to come into that lane. She had just had a baby 8 weeks before and because of severe carpel tunnel syndrome during her pregnancy she was having surgery that morning on both of her hands. Her sweet little baby that was with her at 6:30 in the morning had a double ear infection and was obviously in a lot of pain. She was in huge hurry because she needed to get the baby to the Instacare, before her surgery. Long story short-she had a long horrible night and she was preparing to have a long, painful few days as well. It didn't cost me anything to be kind to her, and I left feeling SO glad I had not added to an already stressful day for this young mother.

I am grateful for the chance I have to focus on serving this month. I smile as I think about not only those that are being served, but hopefully the way I am learning and growing as well. Something so small...but that had an impact on me.

I hope you are all finding LOTS of things to smile about in your lives today! I will be back tomorrow with a simple, fun scavenger hunt for your kids on Valentines Day!

Smiling this Sunday

I decided I wanted to have Sundays on my blog full of things throughout the week that brought joy to me. I'm still working on trying to focus on the 99% in my life :)

Some of them will be little things, some will be big, but I can think of NO better way to go into a new week than remembering all the GOOD in my life.

So sit back and relax...and see all the things that are making me smile today.

This one is pretty self-explanatory :) This was my little bug after she woke up from her nap the other day. She looked so happy and chubby it was all I could do to not just squeeze and squeeze. She has just stared scooting ALL over the house. She is very content because she can be on the go...but I am having to vacuum about 5-6 times a day! That little girl will scoot by 47 toys to get that ONE beautiful piece of fluff! She looks just like my oldest daughter, sometimes looking at her takes me back 6 years. I love my little Avrie bug.

This picture was taken just a little over a year ago. It is a picture of my 3 older kids, their 2 second cousins, and their Great Grandpa Howard. Grandpa Howard passed away a week ago yesterday and as I was going through my emails I found this picture he sent me. I LOVE this picture. I LOVE that my children got to know their Great Grandpa. Because of different family situations he wasn't a part of my life growing up at all, and I never thought we would be close. For me to be able to spend the last few years communicating with him, and having my children love him and he love them...it has been such a blessing to me. A reminder that it is NEVER too late to build relationships. I am so grateful for all he was able to give to my little family, we are better for knowing and loving him.

This picture makes me smile because this is how my kids ALWAYS are. They are always smiling, looking all put together, hugging each other, singing sweet songs together, and telling me constantly what a great mother I am.

HA! Not quite! :) This picture makes me smile today because it reminds me that somewhere down deep...my kids might actually like each other.

They fight. All the time. Everyone assures me this is normal, but after the week we have had...I needed a little proof that they CAN sit next to each other for 5 minutes without screaming, pulling hair, kicking or crying.

On Christmas day I finished a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 40 days. It sounds cliche to say it was life-changing...but it truly was. I am smiling today because my Dad and I together are going to do something similar with the New Testament. I am so excited to dive into the life of the Savior, and to share that experience with my dad.

Finally I am smiling today because of this fantastic blog I found. She is doing a month-long service boot camp...a way to get you and your families to serve, in any way you can! As soon as I saw it I enlisted me and my troops...and I can't wait to get started. We are doing a fun fhe tomorrow night that is our monthly service project...I will be sure to let you know how it goes!!

So now its your turn...what things are making YOU smile today?? :)