Why I am grateful for broken toes...

Today Samara broke her toe.

One of the kitchen drawers got pulled out too far and landed right on her toe. It swelled up and turned purple almost instantly. The first thing she said (after sobbing, "It hurts! It hurts!") was,

"Why does this have to happen to me?!?"

It got me thinking about what it would be like if she never felt any pain in her life, then all of the sudden had to go through childbirth or something. Talk about a shock to the system.
But pain is inevitable in life. And at some point(s) it will be so great, we may think it is unbearable. That is why I am grateful for broken toes. Because all the little and medium sized trials in life help us build endurance and helps us practice for the really tough ones.
I know that when we turn to the Savior and His atonement, while the heartache and pain will almost never go away completely-- the burden is ALWAYS easier to bear.
I know He lives-- because I have felt Him when I needed Him most. And I felt Him-- because He loves me. And...
He loves you.

Way to go Devildogs!

That is my star wide receiver/cornerback-- #90. Ezra helped his team to a 25-0 victory today in Tucson.

We all had Devildog spirit today.

I stayed up way too late last night making these shirts.

Even Isaac was there cheering for his brother.

You did great today Ezra. I am so proud of you!

How Does This Happen?!?

Would you believe me that this room was clean 2 days ago?

Don't you love the trail of empty floor from the door to Allison's bed? Ya, that was my doing last night before putting her to bed.

Baby's First Smile

Last Wednesday, Isaac and I were having a moment. You know the kind... when your baby looks up at you intently with wide eyes, and you coo and smile at them, just waiting for that first smile to break out. You can tell they want to and that they are positively grinning on the inside, but they haven't quite figured out how to move it to their face yet. Then finally, for the briefest of moments-- they smile.

That happened last Wednesday. All week I have been breaking out my best sing-song voice and smiling at him from ear to ear every time he would look at me-- and I am happy to say, I got that smile again last night AND again this morning.

My sweet little baby is already growing up too fast.

Guess Who Started Kindergarten?!?

That's right... Elizabeth got in to the half day kindergarten class at the Montessori school down the street from us. Two weeks before school started she was ninth on the waiting list and they told me they take new students up until January. I wasn't quite ready for her to start yet, so I was really hoping a spot would open up closer to January. But alas, they called me yesterday and she got to start on the second day of school.

When I told her the good news-- she hooted and hollered and jumped around. She has been so excited... right up until it was time to go to class. She gave me a panicked look as we got out of the car. Then she grabbed my wrist and tried to take me to class with her when it was time to say good-bye. But...

She was all smiles when I came to pick her up. She had a great time, and looks forward to going back again tomorrow.

Scotty took the news harder than anyone. Elizabeth is his baby, and therefore, she is still too young to start school. When I called to tell him she got in, he said, and I quote, "Thanks for ruining my day." a little melodramatic sweety, don't you think? :)

Isaac's Blessing

Last Sunday our little Isaac was blessed by his father. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to have a worthy and faithful priesthood holder for my husband and the father of my children. I always feel the overwhelming love our Father in Heaven has for these precious little ones He has sent me every time Scotty uses the authority God has given him to act in His name to bless them. It is a powerful reminder of the awesome responsibility I have to nurture, love, and teach them. But when I feel the love the Lord has for them, I know I am not alone.

I am also very happy to say that we were all bathed, dressed, had our hair done, and were sitting in church ON TIME! It was the first time this has happened since he was born. We even managed to snap some pictures before we left for church. I'm so glad we did, because otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten any. Now if I could only figure out how to get all my children to look at the camera and smile (with a real smile) all at the same time.

This really is the best we got of all six of them.

We did manage to get a few adorable poses though.

I really do love these little guys-- they make life so much fun.

First day of School!

My three big kids started school this week. I am sad to see my best helpers leave, but happy to see the amount of fighting go down by about 90%. It is amazing how much better everyone gets along when they don't see each other for a few hours every day.

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Ezra is in the 4th grade with Ms. Sims at Franklin.

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Samara has Ms. Halstead for 3rd grade this year.

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Spencer is delighted to have Ms. Benson for 2nd grade.

I remember when Spencer started kindergarten; I was a little worried about only having one kid left at home. This year I have three kids still at home-- I'm a little worried again.