service gift

we started a family service gift last week for family home evening. it is a wood block wrapped like a present. the idea is, you do something nice for someone and give them that gift. then it would be their turn to do something nice for someone and give them the gift. ethan and i weren't sure how well our little kids could do this, but i really wanted to give it a try anyway.

the next morning i woke up to find the service gift in my bed. as i got up this is what i saw:

apparently, while i was sleeping, maria woke up, ran downstairs to get the gift, came back into my room with a stool, used that stool to find a shirt in my closet, grabbed some pants and then laid the outfit on my bed. isn't this so cute? she did all of this without me waking up, which is very lucky for her because i am usually a light sleeper.

i was so delighted that, not only did she understand the idea of the service gift, but that she also thought of it first thing in the morning and wanted to get it started. i just love it and i love my little family.

home school woes

okay, for those of you that are home schooling or have home schooled in the past, how am i to survive this? i guess i'm looking for words of encouragement or tips and tricks. also, did you all feel like you were doing a terrible job at first? i'm so worried she's going to be the most uneducated kindergartner out there because of me.

how do i make sure i get school done and not let other things get in the way (including toddler moments)? how do i develop a good regimen? how do i motivate my five year old? she gets frustrated easily, how do i help her keep an up-beat attitude? how do i foster a positive school attitude? we already do a morning devotional, but sometimes it seems like i need to include about twenty silent prayers just to get through one hour of school.

it's not always really hard. usually maria has a good attitude and is excited to do school, but how long should i expect a five-year-old to hang in there?

i think my biggest problem is not letting other things get in the way. this morning we ended up cleaning the kids rooms all morning. not my intention but what happened.

i really feel like home school is important and i really want to do this. i'm not going to give up; i'm just feeling a little discouraged and could use some kind words from fellow home school moms. i do know that when i have what i consider to be a successful school day, i feel good and know that this is the right thing to do. it also can be a lot of fun. i guess i just feel that lately it's been more discouraging than encouraging. so . . . help me!

grandma's party

every year my mom has a christmas party for her grandkids. it started out as a way for my siblings and i to christmas shop without kids present but it's become so much more than that. it's a christmas tradition and a great time for all the kids to be together without the interference (annoyance) of their parents. it's also a ton of fun and the kids look forward to it for weeks.

here maria and hudson show us some of the projects they worked on at grandma's party last night.

beautiful ornaments.

gingerbread houses. i think this is one of the favorite activities at the party.

i know my kids had such a fun time and i'm glad my mom does this. it's a great tradition. i loves all the stories maria told me this morning of her funny cousins and all the things they did that made her laugh.

bye the way, doesn't hudson look so big in his suit coat?

hudson's cake

here is a video of hudson blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. sorry it's a tad late, but i just replaced the batteries in my camera which i haven't been able to use since then.

hudson had a very nice birthday and i can't believe he will be going to primary next month!

i think his favorite birthday surprise was the card he got from his great-grandma & grandpa hawkins. they gave him a really cute puppy card and five dollars all in one-dollar bills! he loved that and felt (still fills) so special to have his very own money.

fading innocence

those of you with a lot of boys, please tell me this is a boy thing.

maria and hudson were fighting . . . again.

me: stop fighting! let's be kind to each other.

hudson: no.

me: you don't want to be kind?

hudson: i want to be naughty.

i sure hope this is a boy thing and not a hudson-is-destined-to-be-a-super-villain thing. he also immediately took on the role of bad guy when they were playing super heroes. what is with this?

keep in mind, i had a girl first, a mellow girl (used to be anyway). she wanted nothing more than to be sugar and spice and everything nice. now this. he just wants to be bad. and he seems to have a lot of pent-up aggression already. i find myself wishing there was wrestling or boxing for 3-year-olds because this kid needs an outlet.

it's a boy thing, not a hudson thing, right? right? are all guys like this?

those of you that have older or grown-up kids, is it like this all the time? are you constantly trying to keep the girls from overreacting and the boys from punching things?

hmm . . . i'm starting to think that is right, and that some never grow out of it, because i know some "adults" that like to overreact and punch things.

hudson's 3!

today hudson is three years old! he is an important part of our family and we are so glad he is with us.

not your fault

a few years ago i read "glimpses" - a collection of talks by, and stories about, sister hinckley. there is one talk that has stayed with me more than the others. she spoke of gratitude.

" A grateful heart will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way . . .I know some of you think you are on a tight budget, and you are, I am glad if you are. But it is a tight budget because you have nothing else to compare with it. It isn't your fault that you have had three square meals a day, most every day of your life. It isn't your fault that you have never been hungry in you life. It isn't your fault that somehow or other you have always been able to get a new pair of shoes, whether you needed them or not. It isn't your fault that you have at least five or six changes of clothing in your crowded closets. But all of this makes it doubly hard for you to be truly grateful . . .When you finally develop a little gratitude in your heart, make up you mind to express it. 'Appreciation unexpressed is not appreciation.' If you can't find someone to say thank you to for something, just take a look at your toothbrush and say, 'thank you for being. You are a wonderful little gadget.' 'Thank you' is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul. Never let a day go by without saying thank you to someone for something - and especially to your Heavenly Father."