Things I want to remember...

I have been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am. I have a nice home, comfortable life, great husband, the gospel in my life and four beautiful & healthy children. Because most days lately feel monotonous, exhausting and sometimes overwhelming, the days blur together. Having four little kids is hard work and some days it seems like it will never end. But they are growing up fast and there are things that I want to remember about them, so that I can be reminded of the way they are right now. This blog is my way of journaling here are some things I want to remember about my little family.

 
I want to remember...

• How Elizabeth has brought so much joy and excitement to our family, everyone loves to snuggle and kiss her and help feed and change her diapers.
• Her newborn smell, grunts and groans as well as her crying late at night and wanting to sleep in bed with mom and dad.
• She is a sweet spirit, sent straight from heaven.

• Everyday when we have family prayer Isaac yells "I prayed last night" so he won't get asked to say the prayer.
  
• He is demanding and super stubborn. He's a big baby, still has his binki, wants us to "fluff" his pillow before bed and wants me to baby him. At least he still takes a nap everyday!
  
  He loves to read the same few books over and over. We read books while I feed the baby and he always chooses the same books, every single day.
  
• He laughs really loud, out loud when watching "Tom & Jerry".
  
• He knows how to play "Angry Birds" and "Bubble Ball" on our ipad. He is really good at the games and teaches me how to play.
  
  He lectures everyone (especially cousinBecca) to chew with their mouth closed and then proceeds to chew with his mouth wide open! He is a bossy boy.
  
• He loves to play rough, he wants to have pillow fights, wrestle and play hard.

• Emily is my best helper, willing to do whatever I ask. She'll even play with Isaac when he's being a stinker.
  
• She adores her new sister and wants to be close to her.
  
  How she insists on choosing her outfits and doing her own hair most days. She likes to get it wet, comb it down and put lots of bows and headbands in her hair.
  
  How she is learning to read and spend lots of time drawing pictures and writing words.
  
• She also LOVES living on the circle, and is getting independent in going to play with her friends (without me)!
  
  She's shy and doesn't like to go new places without me.
  
  She has a happy personality and is happy most of the time.

• Taylor loves to read; "Boxcar Kids", "Magic Treehouse" and non-fiction books are his favorite.  
• He has to be reminded to use soap and shampoo every time he takes a shower.
• How excited and dedicated Taylor was to start reading the Book of Mormon. He would stay up late at night reading chapter after chapter, not knowing a lot of what he was reading but knowing it was important.
• Learning about fasting and being willing to fast once he turned eight years old, even though he is hungry. 
• He gets so excited to learn new facts about the world, space, tools, animals etc..  
• How he absolutely LOVES living on "the circle" (the street of our new house). He loves living by so many friends and being able to walk to school, scouts and church. He never wants to leave the street and go anywhere because he is so happy staying at home and playing with his friends. This makes me life so easy and uncomplicated. I don't need to drive him anywhere lately.

• Danny is the steady rock of our family. I can be hormonal, emotional and totally unreasonble and he will help me feel stable again.
• The kids favorite thing to do before bed is wrestle with Danny. He takes them downstairs and throws them around on the couch, and they love it! 
• Danny is a good teacher for our kids; teaching them about tools and how to make stuff, about animals etc.. and about the gospel.  
• He has a lot of patience, more than me most days.  
• He is a wonderful provider, and great father and a fantastic husband.

 My goal this year is to enjoy my kids more and not worry about the never ending "to do" list as much. I want to be more patient, kind, loving and live each day to the fullest. I want to snuggle and hold Elizabeth until she falls asleep, and enjoy each of her adorable baby stages. I want to read Isaac "The Pokey Puppy" ten plus times a day, take him on bike rides, teach him to play soccer and do fun, messy crafts. I want to take the time to teach Emily how to read, draw rainbows, help me cook. I want to spend time with Taylor talking about science or space, playing basketball ( I let him win) and practice memorizing the "Articles of Faith". I love how our kids want to spend time with us and get so excited about the smallest thing like making milkshakes, doing our "family sandwich" ( a big family hug) or having Friday night "movie night". These memories are priceless to me.




I know these days will pass far too quickly, and before I know it they will all be grown. I wish I could stop time and stay right where we are, because I love the stage of our family right now!