Aunt Meg's Christmas pictures.

David's sister emailed me some pictures from Christmas earlier this week, and though I know it was awhile ago, some were too cute not to share. Enjoy the show.

What will they come up with next??

A genuine waste of time, but fun!



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We Thank Thee, O God For a Prophet.

The prophet of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away Sunday evening surrounded by his family. He was 97 years old. He had been the president of our church for twelve years, and he is the one that I remember the best, the one that I "grew up with", if you will. And for all my non-LDS friends and family who may frequent my blog, this is a big deal - kinda like the Pope passing away for Catholics. Tonight for Family Home Evening (when LDS people reserve one night a week to spend as a family and have a spiritual lesson), we sat Ethan down and tried to explain what had happened. Ethan was very good at picking President Hinckley out of pictures, or when we would see him on TV, so we thought it would be appropriate to tell him what happened. We asked him if he knew what had happened to President Hinckley. "Yes", he said. "He died." We proceeded to try to explain to him that a new prophet would be called in his place. David and I both shared our favorite stories about President Hinckley, and every time we would come to a pause, Ethan would go "Yes", and shake his head up and down, like he was really listening. It was a powerful spiritual experience for our family as we felt the Holy Ghost as we talked about our dear "President Hincwey" as Ethan called him. In a way I have a difficult time explaining or putting into good words, I know that President Hinckley was more than just a good man. He was indeed a great man, who saw and did great things. I mean, look at him, he just radiates feelings of goodness, kindness, and for me, peace. One of the unique doctrines of the LDS church is that we boldly proclaim that the Lord has not left His world to fend for itself or to be without direction. He still leads and guides the church He himself organized when He was on the Earth through a prophet and through apostles. It's really nothing new...it's the same way He's always led His church. After the cruxifiction and resurrection of Christ, the world became a very wicked place. There's a reason the Dark Ages are called the Dark Ages. The Lord saw it fit to remove the Priesthood (the power and authority to act in the name of God) from the Earth, but promised he would again restore it to the Earth. And He has. It started in 1820 when God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to a young Joseph Smith who was praying in a grove in Palmayra, New York. Joseph was caught up in the religious revolution that was sweeping the country and genuinely wanted to know where his place was in all of it. So, he did as the prophet James suggested when he said, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not" (James 1:5). It was during this prayer that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph
and instructed him not to join any church, that none of them had the fulness of the Gospel that Christ established during his mortal ministry and that had subsequently been taken from the Earth during the Apostasy. Over the next ten years, Joseph commenced in the work of re-establishing the Church here on the Earth, under the complete direction of Jesus Christ. In 1830, with the Priesthood restored, the Church was re-established and it will never be taken from the Earth again. Why is this wholly significant? What is so special about the "Priesthood"? I have a testimony that the Priesthood is what binds and seals family for eternity instead of until death. It allows us to again have prophets and apostles, the authority to baptize, confirm, seal, and heal. We lived with God before we came to this Earth, and in order to return to Him, there are certain ordinances that must be performed, certain things we must do. That is why the Priesthood is so vital to the Church. It is a testimony I would give my life for before I would deny, and something that radiates peace to me on a daily basis. Mormonism is perhaps one of the least understood religions of all time, but the doctrines really are quite basic if you study the ancient Church. It all makes perfect sense to me. I am thankful for it in my life. I am thankful for the life I lead because of it, and I am most thankful that I know the answers to three important questions that some people walk around their entire lives wondering the answers to: Where did I come from? What am I doing here? Where will I go when I die? I am grateful for President Hinckley and all that he did to help the Church grow during his time as prophet and for all the inspired counsel he gave. I know that he will continue to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, even after his death. And for any of my non-LDS friends or family who want to know more, go to www.mormon.org for the correct information (there's a lot of really, really completely false or severely-stretched truths floating around on the Web), or ask me. I'll be glad to talk with anyone who just honestly wants to know more, for informational purposes or otherwise.

My babies are growing up.

Every once in awhile, I like to wax nostalgic. Tonight has been one of those nights. I swear I don't know how my kids grow so fast. That is about the most cliche' thing I could write, but it is true. I look at Sara Katherine now and remember that when Ethan was her age, we had just moved to Tuscaloosa, I was dog sick pregnant, and my precious Ethan was so good about playing on the living room floor with his little toys while sick-mommy would lay on the couch all day, occasionally getting up to go throw up. Now, here Sara Katherine is, practically walking, (and not near as good at entertaining herself as Ethan was, but whatever), sounding out all kinds of new words, waving 'hi' and 'bye', pointing at stuff she wants you to give to her, answering questions using her body language, eating anything and everything you put in front of her, and it just amazes me. And then there's Ethan - my absolute ray of sunshine. I could not have asked for a sweeter, more well-natured, kind, good little boy. He brightens up wherever he is, from the kids room at the gym to the grocery store - and I know that because everybody tells me so. Strangers tell me so, and strangers don't have to lie. They could opt for silence. I don't want to brag on my kids, but I guess this is bragging on my kids. Sure, they've got their things I wish I could change (for example, I would love for Sara Katherine to learn to love her own bed for the whole night without having to go through endless crying that I'm simply not capable of listening to, and I would like for Ethan to not pretend like he can't hear me when I need him to come to me for a diaper change), but I love my kids, and I love spending all my days with them. Most of you know I'm not a very scheduled mom, and my kids don't have a bedtime, and I don't apologize about that to anyone (not even my mom who wishes they did have a bedtime!) I'll worry about bedtimes when they start going to school. But for now, I love being around them, and thankfully, David is a total rockstar dad who makes my job so much easier. Maybe we should take more time for just the two of us, but we don't really feel like we're neglecting our relationship in any way. It's important to me that David and I have a relationship independent of our children so when our children are out of the house at school and married or what not that we are happy. We build on that relationship every day when we make it a point to eat family dinner together, talk together, pray together. But right now as the parents of an infant and toddler, we just want to be around them as much as we can. David has actually gone and woken Ethan up out of a dead sleep because he "misses him." (And no one else would dare get away with this, but I can't tell the daddy no!) Maybe one day I'll feel like letting them go to their grandparents' houses for a night or two, but I hate to tell the grandparents it probably won't be any time soon (which particulary bothers my mom and PawPaw!). I just can't imagine missing something right now. They do cute, new stuff every day, and I don't want to miss any of it. I've never spent a night away from Sara Katherine, and I've only spent a total of four away from Ethan - and they were four agonizing nights for me...two while I was in the hospital having Sara Katherine and two when I was at a wedding in Maryland. I kept waking up, feeling panicked that I wasn't within arms' reach of my child. Please, some other mother tell me they can relate. I know as they get older I will be able to let them go a little more, but not now. For now, they are mine and David's, with an open door to the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and whoever else wants to be a part of their life. :) Here is what my big little kids are up to...

The weather was actually nice today, so we were enjoying some outside time while Sara Katherine was napping. I was cleaning up in the garage, and before I knew it, Ethan had gathered an armful of tools from his dad's toolbox and was "fixin'" his little dumptruck. It wasn't broken, but he was "fixin'" it!
Sara Katherine finally has enough hair for a pony tail. This one was her dad's creation. He did a great job, I think. She looks so grown up with her hair all done up!
Ethan is quite the photographer, wanting to take pictures whenever he can (and David seems to be his favorite subject, perhaps because he smiles at the camera like this). I have got to get that kid a child's digital camera, because when he's done with ours, it's thrown down on the floor like just another toy!

Joane Loden's Baby Shower

My gift to Joane: a homeade diaper cake.

Let me tell you what a freakishly small Mormon world it is. Growing up in Prattville, we went to church with a family named the Lodens. This is when I was small, small, small. I grew up with the Loden family, going to high school with many of their kids. When David and I moved into this house about a year and a half ago, one of the Loden boys moved in right around the corner from us. We hadn't seen each other in years, and now here we are neighbors. Anyway, JJ married well to a sweet, sweet girl who I like a whole lot named Joane. Their first baby (boy) is due the beginning of March, and I was tickled blue to host a baby shower for her at my house this past Saturday. I had lots of help, though, lest I take all the credit. Kira made a bomb-diggity cake. Seriously, it was so good (see weight loss blog for post about that). Candice came with her fun self and did games and the muoy cute invitations. Two ladies in the Primary Presidency with me at church even volunteered to help. Angie brought Pigs in a Blanket (see weight loss blog about these as well...) and Debbie, the health conscious one of the group, brought a big ol' fruit salad - the only good thing for us at the shower. I made two breakfast casseroles (um, yep, nothing good for us there; bread, sausage, eggs, cheese, whole milk...), and some blueberry muffins. I'm not a particularly crafty person, but I wanted to attempt a diaper cake. Not having total confidence in myself, I called up my friend and our bishop's wife, Kelly Wyatt who is seriously like, the craft goddess. She can do anything that relates to sewing, painting, crafting, you name it. So, I took all my supplies out to her house, and we created this. I'm just pleased as punch with the way it turned out. Not near as hard as they look. At the shower we ate, played games, ate, and watched Joane open her presents, and ate some more. I am so excited for her and my longtime friend JJ. Small Mormon world, it is.

Kira spelled 'baby' around the center block. Too cute!

Yeah, I don't know why this picture is blurry, but I made my signature baby shower favor that I actually first saw at my baby shower for Ethan that my friend Tammy made. You staple little napkins to look like diapers, glue on some kind of baby trinket to the front, then fill with chocolate-covered peanuts or raisins, and viola! - poopy diapers!

The guest of honor is in the middle...Noel, to her left is due in less than a month with their 3rd child (another boy to add to their daughter and son) and that's Kira on the other side, the one who made the sinful cake.

You know it wouldn't be a good post if I didn't take a shot of the food table. :)

My daughter eats cat food.

Some of you may be getting the impression that David and I aren't good parents, but I swear, swear, swear we are. The times we get in trouble (Ethan's ant bite episode, permanent markers on the face, this cat food episode, etc.) are the times when I think he's watching them and he thinks I'm watching them. We should work on our communication or something. But, we discovered Sara Katherine just chomping away on Beamer Kitty's food at my mom's last week. David picked her up to clean her up and nearly threw up when he said she had "cat food breath". Gross, gross, double gross! David put her in the bathtub and brushed her teeth...well. Ah, kids! She knows she's done wrong, too, because she wouldn't even look at the camera!! And what's worse, she got reaaaaallly testy when we took her away from it and wouldn't allow her to near it again!

Random Stuff

Look at those cheeks!

Look at me!

Ice cream...mmmmmmm!


As you can tell, the kids rule the roost at Grandma's.

Big head = big brains.

Ethan put on David's bike helmet to ride his tricycle last week. Surprise, Surprise, it nearly fit him. :) I should get a medal for birthing this child!

'It' has officially frozen over.

All of my non-Southern friends will really get a kick out of this post. People absolutely freak out in Alabama when it snows. Schools and businesses shut down and it is ALL you can find on the news. On Saturday, we got a light dusting of snow that stuck for a little while and have mercy, you would have thought people were preparing for the end of the world. Grocery store shelves cleaned out, a run of mittens and hats (cause no one buys those in AL unless it snows). It's all quite comical. I can remember what an adjustment is was for me when I moved to Boston in January. I was late everywhere I went for the first month because I was always having to scrape ice off my windshield or dig snow out from in front of my tires and doors so I could go somewhere. To see people freaking out about this is just hilarious to me. But, Ethan had a great time in it and we had to drag him in after his shoes got soaked and he was turning into an iceblock. Here are some pictures to mark the occasion. It hasn't snowed in Prattville (where we were at my mom's for the weekend) in six years. So, we had to take pictures to document the occasion (and of course, to post on the blog!)

Up and running, so to speak.

I know there are those of you who read this blog who could give a care about my weight loss woes, and might even get irritated that I bring up weight issues so much. So, I have created another blog dedicated solely for the purpose of having a sounding board for my weight loss goals. Only visit if you want, but if you go there, be nice. :) I won't mention weight anymore on this blog. It will just be a place to share the fun stuff that goes on with my family. Which, speaking of fun stuff, it is SNOWING in Alabama! Pictures to come soon!!

Weight loss blog address is: www.havekidsgainweightclub.blogspot.com or click link under "Friend's Blogs" aptly named "Jeni's Weight Loss Blog".

Finally, some GOOD news!

-an excuse the 'old' Jeni would have used!

I have lost 3 pounds! Woo-hoo!!! I don't have the shakes anymore from my Dr. Depper deprivation, but man, the first week was HARD. Very, very hard. I have only had one since I cut myself off, and that one was a disappointment. If they're not from a can and reallly cold, they just aren't that good (and the fountain Dr. Pepper from Taco Casa is especially disappointing, so don't waste your calories on those). I haven't really made any other big changes except for the whole soda thing, and it's paying off. I am, however, eating smaller portions (except when we went for soup, salad, and breadsticks at Olive Garden last week...hmmm...will have to repent for that one), and I don't let myself snack on bad-for-you stuff during the day anymore. I have stocked the fridge with 40-calorie yogurts and sprinkle some homeade granola in there when I need a sweet-tooth fix (that is a recipe I will have to post as well...the list keeps growing). The other stuff I'm doing is just cutting back where I can. Instead of eating a whole bagel, I eat half, and put low fat cream cheese on it instead of real cream cheese. I honestly never thought I'd see the day where I would even bring 'light' or low-fat' stuff into my house, but it is here. I also don't eat ice cream anymore. I didn't know if I could give that up, but the Publix frozen yogurt is just as yummy as ice cream, with half the fat. I don't miss ice cream at all because when I eat frozen yogurt, it tastes like ice cream! I'm going to set up another blog one day soon dedicated soley to my weight loss journey. Watch for that, coming soon!

What your children are doing when you're not looking.

When I haven't heard Ethan in some form for more than a few minutes, I get worried, go looking for him, and usually find something like this:

Yes, folks, that's permanent black marker on his lips and cheeks. He was putting on "make-up like mommy". Oh dear. I must have a talk with him about that.

David was sweeping our (obviously) very dirty kitchen floor. He got side-tracked, put the broom down, and came back to find Ethan in David's flip-flops wearing "lipstick", just sweeping away, making a bigger mess, but "helping".

Sara Katherine is not a big fan of clothes, and unless I have her in footed onesies, which is pretty much all she wears, she does embarassing stuff like this, in public. This, however, happened at home.

One of her favorite snacks in Multi-Grain cheerios. The weather in AL is weird, and it was really humid one day, so the cheerios got sticky, and when I wasn't looking, she dumped her little bowl out and sat right in the middle of them. I picked her up and they ALL stuck to her little butt. I seriously love being a mom!

Resolutions vs. Resolve

So, I have tried and failed in the past to have "resolutions". This I figured I would try something different: let's work on my resolve. David and I sat down last week and made a list of things we'd like to do or do better this year. I pulled our our lists we made every other year we've been married, and many of the same things seem to reoccur every year, ie, feed the missionaries at least once a month, attend the temple regularly, be better missionaries ourselves, make date night a priority, etc., etc. Some of these reoccur because they should, and because they take work, so they have to stay on the "resolution" list. With two small kids and a husband in law school, date night is the hardest of them all to keep (but, good friends Rachael and Ben sent us a gift certificate to a movie for our anniversary which we haven't used yet....I like knowing that it is there in my wallet, waiting for us to use. We plan to see the new Denzel movie with it though...The Great Debaters.) Anyhow, we added a few new resolvlutions this year, and most of them are things we know we can do, we just have to have the resolve to do them (hence, my new word: resolvlution). There are a few individual resolvlutions I made as well. They are (in no particular order):

-Clean my house less and play with my kids more. There will come a day when my kids won't want to play with me at all, so I better take advantage of this time. There are times when Ethan has asked me to play swords, or puzzles, or sit and read him a story, and my response has been, "After I finish loading the dishwasher, or after I finish folding this load of clothes..." No more. The dishes and laundry could care less if I neglect them, my son, however, will care. What's that saying, "A dirty house is a sign of happy children"?
-Start looking at food for what it is: fuel. It's not something to use when I'm happy, when I'm sad, or when I'm frustrated. Just when I'm hungry, and then within reason. I've come to the conclusion that chances are I'm not going to change what I eat, so I have to change how I eat.
-Continue going to the gym 4-5 times per week. I've been doing it for so long, I feel worse on days when I don't go the gym, for whatever reason. I just need to continue on that path.
-I want to learn how to smock. The dress Angie made Sara Katherine for Christmas has inspired me. I mean, I can cross-stitch, and people say if you can do that, you can smock. I have a friend (Thad) whose mom started teaching me how to do it years ago, and I think I could do it. Pleating looks to be the hardest part. I don't consider myself to be especially "crafty", but I enjoy having projects to do and learning new things.
-I want to use softer tones with my kids when I'm aggravated with something they are doing or with a certain behavior. David is the greatest example to me concerning this. He never raises his voice to them in anger or exasperation. Never. He may not be with them all day like me, but he's with them enough to where I think he could do it, but he doesn't.

Those are the ones I feel I can share via my blog. There are many more, but I think I've finally realized that I can achieve them all, if only my resolve is strong enough.

Crack in a can.

I haven't had a Dr. Pepper since Saturday and I seriously have the shakes. Seriously. So, excuse the typos if there are any. Until I get my weight back where I want it, I have limited myself to one soft drink per week, and my drink of choice, if you will, is the almighty Dr. Pepper. I love the stuff. In fact, I'm not sure 'love' is a strong enough word. I know, I know, this sounds crazy, but I'm convinced they put something other than caffiene in Dr. Pepper to make you drink it. Has to be. I was talking about this with a girl at the gym yesterday and she said, "Yeah, Dr. Pepper is like crack in a can." Appropriately put. That's exactly what it's like. I craved Dr. Peppers through both pregnancies, and crave it even when I'm not pregnant. (Seems like when I'm pregnant the cravings are worse, though). Toward the end of my pregnancy with Ethan, I would eat Mexican food and drink Dr. Pepper at least three times a week. This would explain the weight that has been lingering around for the last two years. Two of my absolute favorite things in the world would have to be two of the worst things for me. Sigh. It has been EXTREMELY difficult to resist Dr. Pepper this week. See, it seems like my body is conditioned to when it thinks it should have a Dr. Pepper. I shop at Publix at lot, at least once a week. On the way out of Publix, there is a row of nice shiny Coke machines, and the synapses start firing in my brain before I even get out the door. It's like I go into auto-pilot and I just have to stop and get one. And they're so cold and so good. I have actually been to Publix twice this week and have shut my eyes and walked right by them. Don't ask me where this will- power has come from, because I'm usually pretty crappy in the will-power department. Also, when I'm out running errands for extended periods of time, I seem pre-programmed to have to get a Dr. Pepper. Earlier this week, I was out with the kids running errands. It got to be lunch time and I still had a few more stops. I had a free coupon for a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A (which they let me trade for a grilled chicken sandwich after I asked them...yes, people, I asked for a GRILLED chicken sandwich), and I wanted a Dr. Pepper reeeeeeeeeeal bad. But, not wanting to use up my one soft drink so early in the week, I got water. Boring ol' water. They gave me some lemons, which made it better, but I asked for water. (I did however, snag some of Ethan's waffle fries he didn't eat...couldn't let those go to waste, now could we?) Anyway, point is, I am trying to do better and have had a small victory thus far this week. Maybe sharing it and getting some of you to go, "Good job, Jeni" will keep me on the uh, straight and narrow. I do not want to pass this down to Ethan who refers to any carbonated beverage as "Pepper" and swipes mine whenever he can. I have to be a better example for my kids. Having said that, I'm going to go drink my milk with dinner, and look forward in anxious anticipation to my Dr. Pepper this week...I acutally have fun planning on when and where I'm going to drink it....sounds dangerously like 'addict' behavior...

So Proud of my Mama.

Back in April, my mom and I decided it was high time we get serious about getting ourselves in shape. I had just had Sara Katherine and hadn't ever gotten back to my comfortable weight from having Ethan, and mom was tired of yo-yoing with her weight from one diet to the next. We are going to be serious this time, so we said. Mom's reasoning: "I have to be able to keep up with my grandchildren." My reasoning, "I miss my cute clothes and I'm tired of having two chins and stuff that hangs over my pants when I sit down." So we joined Weight Watcher's together. Nine months later, mom has reached her lifetime goal weight. Now all she has to do is maintain, but she has lost 35 pounds and looks GREAT. Me, despite religious visits to the gym, many dollars we really couldn't afford on a personal trainer, and even some prayers offered up, I am nearly five pounds heavier than when I started all this. Fair? No, it's not fair. (Ironic that mom's the one who always told me life wouldn't be fair...) But, mom really worked the program, and here's the key, she changed her eating habits for life. She was much more determined than me to change her relationship with food. I guess I haven't reached that point yet. I've got no issues with going to the gym and working my little (or I guess big) tail off. But ask me not to take seconds? Oh dear. That is like asking the Pope not to pray. But, it's a new year, and with a new year comes new resolve. Tomorrow night for Family Home Evening, David and I are setting personal and family goals for 2008. I will share some when we are done, but you can bet eating less will be at the top of the list. My ten-year high school reunion is coming up this summer...I don't want to be "that" girl that people say, "Look at her...she had kids and her body went to pot!" And I want to be healthy. I want to be around for a long time to watch my kids grow and my grandkids grow. And, more importantly, I want to be a good example for my kids. Taking seconds just because it tastes good ain't exactly being a good example. So, good job, mom, for being a good example to me...you always have been.

Beginning of April, at Sara Katherine's blessing.

In November, at Lacy's wedding. She hit her goal weight last week, so she's even skinnier now than in this picture. Way to go, mom!