Already talking marriage.

I'm in the kitchen making our usual Saturday night pizza. Daniel comes down the stairs, just had a bath and has his comfy footed pajamas on.

"Mom when I get older and I meet a girl, and I fall in love, then do I ask her to marry me?"

I say "yes Daniel, you can marry whoever you choose."

"Mom when I decide to get married can I still live with you?"

I tell him No. He will not want too. He will want to live with his wife.

He tries really hard to fight back the tears. "but mom, I really want to live with you."

I tell him not to be sad. None of this is going to happen until he gets older and by then he won't want to live with me.

By now he has full on tears running down his little face. "mom I don't think I am ever going to get married, because I always want to live with you."

And this is the short little conversation that I will need to remember and will pull out on Daniel's wedding day when I am the one who is really in tears missing my boy.

a little reminder.

Daniel dropped his glass football bank on the tile floor. Pieces of glass all over, money all over, and a look of shock on his little face. First he wants to know if we can go buy a new one exactly the same, then he wants to know if maybe we could find the same one in plastic form. While cleaning up the mess I witnessed him go through all the emotions we go through when something horrible happens. Sadness, denial, anger, and then blame. We ended the conversation with him saying "mom this is why we shouldn't have a house like this!" I asked him like what? He said we need a soft house, or a bouncy type house. He was very serious about this. I really think he was upset that we would ever even consider living in a home that had a tile floor. I felt bad for him he really was devastated.

I started thinking about life and drawing some comparisons. I couldn't help but look at his little sad tear stained face and think to myself that I wish he could see how this is just not a big deal. We can easily buy him a new little bank, even a better one, that soon he won't even care or be missing his football bank. I can't make him realize these things it is just part of life, it's part of growing and learning.

I thought about myself and some of the trials that I have been through and some I continue to face. How I sometimes go through all of the emotions of sadness and anger and sometimes even blame. How I can't always see the big picture and how I sometimes feel like some trials will never end and how unfair it is to see some of the most horrible things that people have to go through, that often don't seem fair or right.

Today while cleaning up the little broken bank I thought about my Heavenly Father. He sees the whole picture and he probably at times wishes he could just take some of my trials away or help me see that they really are just but a small moment in the Eternal perspective of things. To me they are huge, they are hard, and can even seem unbearable, but maybe that is because In the Eternal Perspective I am just a child. Still learning, and still relying on my faith and my Father in Heaven to get through everything that life throws my way. My hope is that one day I can look at my life and feel like I passed the tests, I made it through everything I was asked to go through, everything that seemed to hard to bear at the time. I don't think our Father in Heaven ever thinks we are immature or self absorbed when we face hardships that cause us to question, blame or feel angry. I think he looks at us with love and understanding, the same way I looked at Daniel. Knowing that someday it would all make sense, it would all be made right, and the heartaches we experienced brought us closer to Him and turned us into exactly what He wants us to become.

Calling all Superheroes!!

We had to make this celebration a big one. It's only once that both your boys turn 5, that's a milestone I say. We had most of our celebrations on the Saturday before their actual Birthday. On their actual Birthday Daniel had an ear infection, so we didn't get to go bowling like we had planned (we went later in the week.) They did open presents. They both wanted cameras. They got "Cars" digital cameras, and just our luck NEITHER of them worked AT ALL. They still slept with them and carried them around until we were able to take them back and get knew ones.

Number "5" sugar cookies they brought to share with their preschool class on their Birthday.

Ending a long day of celebrations that started at our house with a house full of little Superhero boys, and ended with extended family packing into our little home for a taco bowl dinner and some cake and ice cream.

One of my nieces pictured below in her beauty mask. The girls were all upstairs doing who knows what in the bathroom.....I guess just needing to beautify!

Of course Grandma Rounds can never get enough of little Marie. Those two are inseparable.Opening presents at the Superhero party. The little boy with the "H" on his cape for "Hugh" was hilarious. He was so excited to give his present to Nathan and Daniel that he practically opened it for them. I think they were a little surprised by this, but I thought it was cute.

You have to play SUPERHERO games at a SUPERHERO party, wearing your SUPERHERO capes that you found on your SUPERHERO treasure hunt, and decorated with actual SUPERHEROES.

This is probably my favorite picture below, because I know my boys so well and I know exactly what they are thinking "YES!! finally it's MY birthday and I get to be sung to and I get my own cake and I get to blow out my candles, and I have been waiting ALL YEAR for this!!!"

Can't have a SUPERHERO party without "monster dogs" to defeat.

Some of the Birthday decorations to make the day a little more special.

Took a little trip to the comic book store to pick up a few cheap comic books so I could make these banners and decorate their letters. I have to say it will for sure be my last trip to a comic book store!!

All the work of putting this together was so worth it when I watched my two little boys walk into the fully decorated room. Their little eyes were huge and they both said "WOW, this looks so cool, I so excited, this is gonna be so fun." They then said "mom, I am going to give you a hug because this looks so exciting in here!!" Sweet little boys, they really are my SUPERHEROES!!

Valentines Day.

Valentines day is a special day. We started some new traditions this year and we continued with some of our old ones. One new tradition is to send out Valentine cards each year instead of Christmas cards. We also started a tradition of passing out flowers to the ladies at care centers. This year we chose Apple Village since that is where my Grandpa Noel spent the last years of his life. I had my dad come along so he could help with Marie and I could help my shy boys pass around the flowers. I was a little nervous at first because the boys seemed so hesitant whenever I would talk to them about it. Nathan flat out said he didn't want to go. But once they got started they didn't want to stop. On the way home the both said " I want to do that again!!" We all really loved it. Reminded me again that the best part of holidays is the giving not the getting.

We didn't do the tradition of St. Valentine ringing our doorbell dropping off a little gift and running away, mainly because we had to choose between that and the flowers or this holiday would have been a pretty expensive one.

We did however keep our tradition of decorating Valentine cookies and delivering them to neighbors. It was kind of a lot to squeeze into one day but it was worth it.

A 2012 Valentines day highlight. I pick my kids up from preschool after they just had their Valentine's party. I ask them if they had fun. Daniel replies "ya, and I have a girlfriend......and she kissed me." He said it like it was just no big deal, just part of life. Nathan said he did NOT have a girlfriend and did Not want one.....I like his way of thinking. Later in the week, I hear Daniel say "AWWWK,,,,,WAAARD" pretty much just "awkward" in a really girlie way. I had to laugh, he told me that is what his girlfriend always says. Wow! I guess this love stuff really starts pretty early.

So my plan is to make Valentines day a day of love and service not a mushy, gushy, romantic holiday where my kids feel bad if they don't have a "Valentine." I know it won't work, but it's my plan.