Jumper Roo

Still debating whether or not to go Private.  I like the idea of feeling "safer" to just be myself on here and post a million pictures of my babies.  BUT I also love the opportunity my blog presents me to share the Gospel and my testimony of Jesus Christ with others, especially people I may not know.  So we'll see....

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Yesterday was just a relaxing day.  Nate didn't have to work, and the kids were up to their ears in new toys to play with.  We spend the morning organizing the kids' rooms.  The girls' room looks so cute, especially the Dora toy chest at the foot of the Dora bed!   If we stay here in the Village for another 3 years, I want to paint and decorate it all up for them.  Cam's too.  Then Claire and I drove to the mall and met my mom and Michelle.  I've never gone shopping the day after Christmas, and it was a ZOO!  But I snagged some killer deals:  long-sleeved GAP t-shirts for $4.99, a cute Eddie Bauer t-shirt for $10, and a bunch of books for $3.

Nate used his Christmas money to buy a Kinnect for his Xbox.  He's going to find me some workout videos to use on it, so I'm excited.  I have a goal to lose 10 lb and drop a pant size by June.  And I promised my dad I'd run the Salem Days 5K with him in August.  I've been a slacker at getting in shape because we're probably going to have our last baby sooner than later, but I know I need to do better.

Nate works 10-hour shifts the next few days, and the kids and I are all not feeling well.  LONG days ahead!  Hopefully we'll feel better quickly though, because we have a fun weekend planned.

Silly Rooster is a jumping maniac!  Jump Roo Jump!!!

The Heart of Life is Good

Well, it's time for a little change to the blog title.  Four Red Chairs has served it's purposes well for our family journal and graces the cover/binding of my 2010 book.  But 2011 brings a little 3rd bundle of newborn goodness to our family, so four is no longer our family number (Cam always says, "Mom, pretty soon our family will be five!!").

Welcome to "Heart of Life".  I've actually been wanting to use this John Mayer lyric for awhile now.  It's such a beautiful song. 

"Pain throws your heart to the ground.
Love turns the whole thing around.
No, it won't all go the way it should,
But I know the heart of life is good."

As sappy as it sounds, Nate showing up on my doorstep for our first date was really him picking my heart up off of the ground and turning my life around.  It was supposed to be a casual mission-buddy hangout...but we were engaged 6 weeks later, and my life had truly turned around for forever.  Sometimes I look at my beautiful family life and still shake my head at how everything has turned out.  My family truly is the heart of my life, and I love them so so much.

My Actual Life

One of my 5 exciting mail packages arrived last night!  I didn't think it would come so fast, so I was surprised.  My 2010 blog book!!  I am so in love with it.

Every little detail means the world to me.  I think finding little joys in daily errands and chores and projects and routines is what ultimately brings happiness....not just waiting for things like trips or holidays or big life changes.  I'm learning this lesson every day.  Looking (well, reading) back on my life, I will be grateful that I recorded my actual life ...more importantly, their actual life.

President Spencer W. Kimball had 33 black binders on the shelves of his personal journals when he was called to be President of the Church in 1973. He said, "On a number of occasions I have encouraged the Saints to keep personal journals and family records. I renew that admonition. We may think them is little of interest or importance in what we personally say or do—but it is remarkable how many of our families, as we pass on down the line, are interested in all that we do and all that we say.

What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.

If you have not already commenced this important duty in your lives, get a good notebook, a good book that will last through time and into eternity for the angels to look upon. Begin today and write in it your goings and your comings, your deeper thoughts, your achievements, and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. We hope you will do this, our brothers and sisters, for this is what the Lord has commanded, and those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives."

Our every day life.

Nashville!

Best post of the year!

Cinnamon Rolls & Lovely Blogs

It's been a CRAZY Thursday so far, so I'm collapsed on the sofa, watching House Hunters, blogging, and best of all, eating cinnamon rolls for lunch.  Yes, that's plural....  Are they homemade, you ask?  Heavens no...they're off the discount bakery rack from my grocery store.  I've always wanted to attempt my own though...one day!

Yesterday morning, the kids were misbehaving, so before he left for work, Nate told them no more tv for the rest of the day.  At first, I was upset....hey, he gets to go work a 10-hour shift and leave me home...don't take their tv away!!  But since we're a team, I held strong and decided to spend the morning at Sunnyside Park.  The walk over there felt eternal (I am sooooo out of shape, it makes me want to cry), but the kiddos had a blast.  We played outside for a few hours after Cam's school was over too, so the day went by quickly.  Thank goodness for decent weather!  Yes, I use the tv to entertain my kids on bad weather days....and I eat cinnamon rolls for lunch.

Today Nate had a few free hours, so he went to volunteer in Cam's classroom.  Cute!  They serve the kids lunch every day, which is just awesome.  And they serve them really great food....no corn dogs or pizza going on at Headstart!  They eat things like lemon chicken pitas, baked ziti, rice & beans, and they always serve sides of vegetables, fruit, cheese, etc.  I really love it!  It'll be a rude awakening for him when he has to start taking sack lunches to school!  Well today, the menu said "Seafood with Thai sauce"...HAHA!  What 4 yr old is going to eat that?  Well....mine did!  I could NOT believe it...but apparently my boy likes crab in Thai sauce.  Who knew?  Big, huge bites of it.  His teacher said that almost all of the kids ate it right up!  Hilarious.  I'll give him a cinnamon roll when he gets home.

Here's a cheery rainbow to brighten up this gray day!

Roo has this sweet thing she does lately where she likes to crawl up on the sofa next to me and nuzzle her head into my neck and just sit there.  It absolutely melts me, and I let her sit there for as looooong as she wants!  By the way, she doesn't call Cameron "Buddy" anymore...she can say Cameron now.  I'm sad it's over because it was sooo sweet, but at the same time, she sounds like such a big girl now, talking so well!

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My friend Noelle gave me this sweet, lovely blog award.  Thanks!

So I now pass it along to 3 blogs that always tend to leave the biggest impact on me.  Be sure to check them out and enjoy!

1. Lindsay - I've referred you all to her blog several times over the past year, but I truly, honestly love everything she writes!  Strongest, funniest, smartest mother I've ever met.  And she's training for a marathon (barefoot!).  And she's my cousin, so she makes my Oregon trips extra FUN!  And...I could go on, but just go see for yourselves!!

2. Tunes & Spoons - I've never met Rachel, but she is so creative with her blog style.  Never a dull post!!  Plus, she is a hopeless romantic and a John Mayer fan, so we clicked right away!

3. Tristan - I love her blog because this girl is SO REAL.  No life-sugar-coating going on over there, and reading her blog makes me feel like I can tackle my own life struggles with some real perspective.  "Realness" is one of my favorite qualities in a friend, and I know that's why we have remained such good friends over the years.

(Ladies, feel free to pass this along and share with us your favorite blogs!)

Happy Thursday!

And don't forget to enter the great giveaway, if you haven't already!

Purple

Can your man pull off purple?

Mine can.  Quite well, actually.



So I wanted to point out the pictures on the sofa wall behind Nate.  My brother gave me that beautiful picture of the Savior a few years ago, and it's always been one of my favorite gifts.  We strategically placed it so that Christ is "watching" our family.  It comforts me a lot.  Because I know He really is watching over our sweet family.

Thank you for your kind comments yesterday.  I was actually really nervous to push the "publish" button on that post.  I was nervous to blab about my (our) personal problems and didn't want to come across as ungrateful for my absolutely wonderful life.  But then I thought, "No, I need my friends right now.  I need their shoulders to lean on."  Thank you for just listening (well, reading) and for giving me the encouraging words I needed to hear.  I feel so much love and understanding from all of you who have been down similar paths....which is everyone!  Because none of us are spared from the discouragements in life, however they may come.  I said a prayer of gratitude last night and this morning for the amazing friends the Lord has given me.  I needed you yesterday, and just like you always are, you were there for me.  Thank you!

I love you all!!!

Why I Blog

I read this quote on a recent blog post by a mom who lost her little girl this summer.  It perfectly sums up WHY I BLOG. 

"I'm not saying this only to those who lose a child. It's my little piece of advice to everyone. Write in your journal. Video tape your children. Take pictures of them doing their normal routine. I have hundreds and hundreds of pictures of Preslee. I feel so lucky to have them. I feel so grateful that I don't have any major regrets. Every child is going to grow up and I think as a parent, you're going to miss these days. Isn't it crazy that I only have 2 regrets? That after I registered for summer classes, I felt a strong need to withdraw from those classes, which enabled me to have an incredible summer with Preslee. I am so blessed, so very blessed. He prepared me. "  - Ashley Sullenger, see blog here.


 
Two nights ago, I pulled out my 2009 blog book and was reading about what we were doing a year ago.  I was grateful for every single photo and word printed in that book.  I was eating it up, wishing I had blogged even more.  Wishing I had known about blogging when Cam was a new baby.  I literally have a week-by-week account of Allison's life....and the majority of Cameron's.  In my eyes, it's worth the several minutes it takes each week for me to take photos and write some words for all of us to have in the future. 
 
People often ask me how I find the time to blog, and it's because I make it a priority. I wrote in a journal weekly growing up, and this is now my journal. This is my photo scrapbook. This is a babybook for the children. I try to record the happy times, mostly. I write about my testimony of the Gospel as often as I can. Some might see it as a waste of time...so many other things to accomplish!  But I don't see it that way.  It is a priceless way to spend my time.  In fact, I need to be better at writing more....more details.  More day-to-day, like I used to.
 
When my children (hopefully all 4 of them....??) sit around and read these blog books when they are grown, I want them to laugh and cry and remember their lives. I want them to think, "Wow....Mom & Dad loved us so much. We were their life. Look how important their testimonies and their faith in Christ were to them."

I love the scrunchie nose.

He looks SO much like his favorite Aunt Megan....fitting, I think, because he loves her so much!!

How I found Roo when I came out of the bathroom yesterday:  Finishing off my cereal on the keyboard rest....good thing she's light as a feather!

Quality Girl Time

Once again, Cameron has been having sleepovers with his cousins.

The Wood cousins this time.

This means quality mommy-daughter time with this little munchkin.

We play ball, eat leftover birthday cake, brush our hair, and read Jamberry.

I can't get enough of her.

Dearest Roo,

I LOVE YOU because:

1. You stop whatever you're doing to rush over and help Daddy put on his shoes before he leaves every day.

2. You inherited your big brother's arm....you can throw a ball with the big boys!

3. That one section of long hair that always hangs over your left eye. (That's Daddy's favorite too)

4. How you and Cam race to get the scriptures from under the red end table every evening.

5. You LOVE books.  I find you sitting by yourself in the playroom flipping through books all the time.

6. How you hold up your bowl to me when you're done eating and patiently wait for me take it from you.

7. You're so dainty.

8. The way you purse your lips when you're embarrassed.

9. You always run over to the coat rack when I tell you we're going outside...even though we haven't worn coats outside for months.

10. We share the name Jane.

11. Sometimes you pick a perfect stranger in a store or a random person at the park and you start running in circles around them.  It's hilarious.

12. I see so much of myself in you....and it's making me learn to love myself more, something I've always struggled with.  Thank you for that.

Love,

Mommy

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Tonight I was looking through my old blog....when Cam was about Roo's age.  I am SO grateful I took the time to blog...so many little memories and moments that would be long forgotten.  A great reminder that even though comments and feedback are fun....my blog is for my babies!!

Need a laugh?  Watch the video at the bottom of THIS post.

Want proof that Cam has always been obsessed with basketball?  Watch the first video on THIS post. (and in the 2nd video, when Nate throws food on his plate like Cam's a dog or something, I'm laughing outloud).

Aww, see you tomorrow, Cam!