Hmmm. . . .

This was Lauren's chicken feeding outfit a few days ago.

Looks like she's ready for a roller derby.

I've expressed to my children that when I'm too old to dress myself, they are not aloud to pick out my clothes.

Decorating for Thanksgiving

To kick off the the Thanksgiving celebration this week, Lauren tried to liven up her room (and a few other random objects) by decorating with the festive fall color . . . orange. She found the nearest Sharpie she could get her hands on. Mom has tried diligently to keep these out of reach, but that didn't deter the decorating prodigy.

Wall art. I think this is called "Blustery Autumn Day".

Body art. She didn't leave the table out either.

LOTS of body art.

Awww . . . she even decorated her bed.

Her tricycle. I guess she was trying to break up all the pink.

She even took the time to decorate her brother's baseball. I don't think he fully appreciated the gesture.

Thoughts

I've had some thoughts circling around my head for a few days now. Maybe by writing them down I can put my mind somewhat at ease.

Do I show my family them I love them?

Do I tell them I love them?

Are we making enough good memories together?

What kind of legacy will I leave behind one day?

The reason for these thoughts is because I came across a blog yesterday belonging to a woman who died unexpectedly from a stroke just 2 weeks after her 4th baby was born. I don't know this woman personally, but her death has forced me to look at my own life and my family in a different light.

Even though family is the most important thing to me, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, mundane tasks. Most days it seems I just go through the motions to get through the day. I forget to slow down and take notice of the blessings right in front of me.

Another reason for this reassessment is because a good friend of mine has been diagnosed with an incurable disease. She has 5 little ones.

There have been a few other eye-opening experiences over the last few months, but they haven't hit home with me like these two have. I think Heavenly Father keeps putting these life changing stories in front of me so that I will recognize my blessings and not dwell on how terrible I think things are. I'm reminded that there are always others whose trials are far greater than my own.

We are healthy.

We have the necessities.

We have a home.

We have food.

We have a car that gets us from point A to point B.

My husband has a job.

We have the gospel.

My goal is to recognize my daily blessings, notice the little things (and enjoy them!), enjoy my children every day, keep trying to do the things Heavenly Father wants me to do, and recognize my progress even when I don't think I'm making any.

And laugh.

I don't do that often enough.

Just when I thought I was doing ok . . .

. . . the laundry multiplied ten-fold overnight. I swear it did.

My mom came over this week to help deep clean the kids rooms. They were in serious need of help and maw maw is a professional in this area.

I try to get the kids to tidy up each day, but eventually it gets to the point where I can't stand to go in there. I just close the door and try not to think about it. Hey, it's their room, not mine. But it still bothers me. That was the state of the 2 bedrooms when maw maw came to the rescue.

So, as it goes when you REALLY clean a little person's room, you end up with at least a load or two of laundry you didn't know you had. I'm amazed at the amount of stuff that hides under a bed. No wonder they don't have clean socks or underwear! And did I mention the full bag of paper trash? I need to rename my blog The Pack Rats.

I thought I was making progress in the laundry department, but when I went to start a load this morning, it looked like I hadn't done any laundry in several days. *sigh*

It's not called Mt. Washmore for nothing.

Are we done yet?

We've had a pretty busy week. Just the weekend alone consisted of 3 birthday parties, visiting Ian's dad at the nursing home, and having supper with Ian's mom.

Our cub scout pack was scheduled to perform the flag ceremony for the school's Veteran's Day program on Tuesday. Thanks to our freak tropical storm, school's were closed Tuesday and the program was rescheduled. We were at the school practicing for the program when the announcement was made. Still no word on when the program will be.

The pack was also invited to help hand out programs at the city's Veteran's Day ceremony on Wednesday. After the ceremony, we went to the luncheon for veteran's and their families. I wasn't expecting it to last as long as it did and the little ones were starting to get restless. I was starting to get a little restless too. I was so wiped out by the end of the day that I decided to cancel our scout meeting last night. Thankfully the kids went to bed with no problems because I ended up with a terrible headache.

The boys are back at school today, headache is gone, Ian is home sick, and I've made a quick grocery run.

I'm ready for a few quiet, uneventful days.