Is it Christmas already...

...because when I woke up this morning all the chocolates were eaten out of the advent calendar.

All About Ava (AAA)

So I haven't done a post about Ava in a while, and she has definitely been saying some post worthy stuff, so here it goes. The above picture was taken yesterday, when I was done doing her hair she looked in the mirror and said "I look like Easter Bunny". A few weeks ago I was lying in bed and Ava came in, I told her to go get dressed, she said "Where are we going?" (because for some reason she can only get dressed if we are going some where) I told her we were going to the temple, she looked at me very quizzically and said "I get married?" Oh that one had me rolling, but I guess it's a good sign that some of it's sinking in.

Oh yeah, and one more thing, a couple of days ago I was sitting on my bed reading and suddenly I heard the sound of liquid spilling on the ground. I jumped up just in time to see Ava filling a glass up with milk, but forgetting to stop once it was full. I said in a loud voice Ava stop, and ran over to take the milk jug out of her hand. She immediately was in hysterics, anytime you talk to Ava in a loud or very firm voice, she instantly starts crying. After I got the milk cleaned up, I walked over to her and gave her a hug and a kiss and I asked her if I had hurt her feelings. She said yes, and then I apologized to her, but for the rest of the day anytime I told her she couldn't do something, or to stop doing something, she would look at me and say "You hurt my fewnings" (feelings). I tried really hard not to start laughing, and then would apologize to her again. Boy does she know how to make a person feel bad!

Thank you Elder Wirthlin for your hard work, dedicated service, and Christlike example to us all. We love you, and we will miss you.

Thanksgiving, and Christmas Decorations

I meant to take pictures on Thanksgiving but of course in the chaos of it all, I forgot. Matt is currently in training learning a new plane and had to work that day, he didn't get home until almost five, so we had a late dinner, but I think it turned out good. Thanks to Ali for her recipe on brining a turkey, it was by far my best turkey yet. We bought a twenty pound turkey and it was just us and our neighbors the Jasperson's for dinner, so we are still eating it, I made taco's with it tonight and it was so good. Today we decorated the Christmas tree. It was really fun to watch the kids faces light up when they saw all the decorations Matt was bringing in from the garage. He even put some lights up in their room, they love it. We did lose a couple of ornaments in the decorating process, but thankfully they weren't any that were to special to me.

Here is a picture of the finished product. Ava would put all of her ornaments on the same branch. I thought it was pretty funny, I tried to explain to her that she could spread them around a little, but she wouldn't hear of it. Quinn was so excited for the star, he kept asking his dad if he could put it on.

Also, thank you to all those that left comments on my last post. I really appreciate your support, it helps a lot, and it also helps to know I'm not the only one that has those days.

I woke up this morning thinking I can't do this anymore. I felt frustrated and my patience was pretty much gone. I feel like my days lately have been all the same. One of my kids does something wrong, I get frustrated, lose my patience with them, put them in time out, then when they get out of time out, it just starts all over again. I then get even more mad and frustrated, then feel guilty because I know I'm not being a nice mom, or a good one. Then I get frustrated with myself, and realize that's really who I've been frustrated with all along. It's a cycle I just don't know how to break. So before I even got out of bed this morning I said a prayer. It helped a little, but I just kept thinking what can I do today that will make this day better. I got up and started reading my scriptures. I was reading in 1 Nephi chapter 13 about the revolutionary war, about how God helped the colonists over throw Great Britain, and it occurred to me that if God could help a few colonist overthrow the British army then He can help me to change my attitude, and do a better job with my children. I felt a little better. I then went in the bathroom where Matt was getting ready for work and told him how I was feeling, he gave me a hug and a kiss and told me I was a good mom, and that I could do it. It's amazing how much that helped. Knowing he believed in me and thought I was a good mom made me feel so much better. So I set out with a new resolve to make this day better and to seek the Lords help in resolving any issues we might have. So we started our day, we went to a friends house, then the park, and then I had a craving for my favorite ice cream. So we went and got some ice cream cones, and as I was sitting there watching my little babies eat their ice cream cones with big smiles on their faces I began to cry. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love. Love from and for my Heavenly Father, and love for and from my children. How could I have let Satan in to take away my peace and afflict my soul, and try to take away these precious moments with my sweet children. Suddenly everything made sense. I feel like I've learned a lot from this experience, and I hope I won't have to learn it again for a long time.

High School

Ok, so my friend Megan said she wanted to see a picture of me in high school, so here it is. I think I was 17 in this picture. So my challenge to all of you reading this is to post a picture of yourself from high school. I triple dog dare you.

Random

What? Ava hasn't had a pacifier since she was about three months old. The other day I was going through the baby stuff trying to get an early jump on getting things organized and she found this pacifier, ever since she's had it in her mouth. Matt tried to take it away from her, but she started crying, so we are going to "lose it" while she's sleeping and hope she just forgets about it.



Quinn is really into legos lately. This is a picture of the castle Matt made him, these were Matt's legos when he was a little boy. His mom saved them so Matt could give them to his kids someday.


And we have to end with a "hooray!", only three more months to go. He's still nameless, so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to share!