We're having a....

BOY!!!

And we're SO excited about it!!! Now for a name...

Fun Sabbath Day Activities

Wow, do I have a lot of catching up to do!! I just uploaded a bunch of pictures, so hopefully this week will be conducive to blogging.

I just wanted to post about a little project I did this morning. This came to me after receiving the spiritual equivalent to a slap in the face. I was thumbing through the March Ensign the other day and came across a quote by a prophet (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball) about how the Sabbath day should be treated. It goes like this:

“The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it.”

Whoa.... I'm the one you can usually find in their pjs within 5 minutes of getting home from church. Lounging is my favorite Sabbath activity, so you can imagine how this quote shook me to the core!

Well, I decided to make a change and found a list of fun family activities that are appropriate for the Sabbath. Then I found a jar and decorated it. I cut the list of activities into strips, folded them and put them in the jar. Now when the kids ask "What can we do today?" on a Sunday, I have a place for them to turn to!

Jar before:

Jar after:

I put the quote on the back of the jar as a gentle reminder of what prompted this in the first place:

So resourceful

The other day, Emma and Molly were both trying to use the handtowel that was hanging on the towel ring at the same time.

The result?... a big hole in the wall where the ring used to be.

Needless to say, neither of us (Dan or I) were very happy about it. The girls got a good talking-to from me while Dan tried to figure out a way to fix the problem.

A little while later, Emma said she had a surprise for us. We walked in the bathroom and this is what we saw.




It is a combination of the old towel ring, the new towel ring base, some scotch tape and a wire tie.

Emma was so darn proud of herself, while maintaining proper humility for having landed in this scrape in the first place, that we found it too difficult to stay mad any longer. I had to laugh at her resourcefulness.

Cravings

Today I got a hankering for a Snickers bar. It just wouldn't leave me alone! Finally when the girls were at school and Jack was down for a "rest," I asked Dan (who was working from home) if he would listen for Jack so I could run to the store and get one.

(Yes, I drove to the store just for that.)

On my way there, my phone rang. It was Dan: "Get one for me too."

I'm so glad he understands.

Olympic fever

I love the Olympics!

Ever since I was little, I've loved them. I love the feeling of unity that they bring to the world.

It was so fun to stay up and watch the Opening Ceremony last night. I let the kids stay up and watch with us. Emma dropped off to sleep around 8:30 or so. Jack held on until about 9:30 or 10. But Molly stayed up for the whole thing.

We had to watch it on tape delay - (so much for living in the same time zone as the Olympics, right?) - so it didn't start until 9:00. They had a really neat preview from 7:30 to 9:00 where they talked about Canada's history, and about the tragedy of the Luge athlete who died yesterday. So sad. Hopefully the other luge athletes will be safe. I'm a little nervous about that track...

Anyway, I was so impressed that they were willing to accept the change when the torch malfunctioned and go on with the show. Overall, I thought the opening ceremony was well done.

Now..... Let the games begin!

Handmade sweaters from Grandma

There is nothing like a handmade gift. The hours of thought and care that go into a gift like this make it a true keepsake.


Thanks, Grandma Brynne. The girlies love their new sweaters.

Busted

The secret is out.

Jack knows.

He found the decoy in the pile of clean laundry on the couch waiting to be folded.

He brought them both to me today and announced in an excited voice:
"Two blankies!"



I just hope there won't be repercussions...