Resolutions Revisited

My friend posted about her 2011 New Year resolutions.  I wrote a post about it, and then promptly forgot.  Oddly enough, however, I feel I grew a lot. I did not get better at clipping coupons, but I learned about Aldi and have been saving some money, although I am also trying to make an effort to begin organic eating. Note the word begin. . . we'll see how it goes.  I want to see if it makes a noticeable difference in how I feel.

 I found another flower that blooms in the dead of winter.  This one above. The plant had no leaves and looked from afar like any other winter-resting plant, but come to find out it had these gorgeous little flowers.  What a sweet surprise.  This was before I could stop S from picking one.  But there were others.

This photo just made me happy.  I love how the only thing really in focus is the flower.  So this year I want to focus.  That's my goal. . . I want to focus on loving my family and taking things one day at a time.  

What are your resolutions? 

Eye Exam

S and R had their first eye exam. It was fun. We had to play with the mirrors.  S says the eye exam photos look like aliens.  :D  T was really upset that he didn't get to get his eyes checked. I told him he had to learn all his letters first. :)  

New Lens

Most people probably wouldn't dedicate a whole blog post to something so . . . small . . . but I am not most people. I'm M and I love my lens. :D  If you're around me in the next few weeks beware. I will be a picture-snapping mamma (you know, like instead of a pistol-packing mamma--from the olde west days).

You can see the dust on the lens.

You can practically see the static from S's hair.

Caroling

 I love Christmas caroling.  Some good friends came and we had a great time! We visited some people from the kid's school and their daughter that is in R's class and she played her recorder for us! I love seeing friends and singing with dear ones during the holidays.

By the end we were all freezing and the kids wanted to do anything but sit still and freeze for a picture.  We all went to our homes directly after the last two pictures were taken.

Christmas is Coming!

There is something amazing about this time of year.

It makes me want to burst out into song.

We're going to go Christmas caroling and if you're interested in coming, leave a comment.

We'd love to have you join us.

Christmas Eve. . . . details to those who comment.

And, just so you know, I'm really excited about it!

Marriage Talk with R

Dinner time is a great time to discover things about your children.  For example, tonight R said: "I cannot wait to be a grandfather." A few moments later he added with a touch of trepidation, "And a father."

After that a few minutes passed, "Mom, when will I be old enough to get married?"
Having not established a set time in my head I said, "After your mission."

In case you do not know what a mission is, it's when men and women in our church ages 19 and 21 go out and tell people about Jesus Christ and our Church.  If you'd like to know more go to mormon.org or ask me it's one of the things I love to talk about.

"You can get married after you turn 21--preferably later."  I said.

"Mo-o-om, that's forever!"

Later:

"Mom, I'm a little nervous about the kiss."

"Don't worry honey. When the time comes, you'll be just fine!"

T's explanation for anything that takes more than a minute. . .

"Mom you've been gone a long year." (This is usually after I take a 20 minute nap or a five minute walk to get milk).
"NOOO DAD, NOT WORK. You'll be gone a long year."

Also, he has recently decided that being "the rotten egg" is a huge honor.  For the first few weeks he'd take off like a shot up the stairs so he could be the first one up and the "rotten egg."

Lately, he's been much more generous and wants to share those glorious moments. Even when my arms are full of groceries and there is literally ten inches of stair next to me for him to climb up he says, "Mom, let's go together, then we can be rotten eggs together." Those are my favorite rotten egg times.

My kids are playing legos together and I just overheard
R (in his bad-guy voice): I'm going to destroy the world.
S (matter-of-factly): You can't destroy the world. Then you'll have no place to live. Do you understand that? No place to live. . .

Groupon is awesome!

This one is my favorite. Check S's face.

Groupon had this awesome deal for the movie theater up the street from our house.

The kids and I went twice. Once to The Muppet Movie and then to Happy Feet Two. I loved the 3-D effects and the part my kids liked best was the bubbles coming out toward the audience in the ending credits.

I pretty much love this one too!