Okay, Blast off!

Okay, so now that I have a blog set up, it is time to get it off and running! I have played with all the settings and templates and colors, I think I am just going to stick with this! I was beginning to get the same feeling I get when I go to a restataunt and am looking at a menu with WAY too many choices for me to handle! You know the one where you wish that you only had to choose between three or four things instead of 30 or 40?! If I just stick with a basic design, with not too fruity colors, then maybe I won't get overwhelmed with the options of sparkly words, blinking icons, and all the other fun things you can put on a blog.

This is a blog of me and my little piece of heaven I call my family. That's us in the picture to the right, and despite the pained look on his face, Scott really does enjoy being part of our family. He just REALLY hates it when I make him take pictures! (We only do it every 5 years or so, so I am not really sure why he gets so bent out of shape about it! It was actually easier to get the three kids dressed, ready and smiling than to get him to pretend like he was having a good day!) Scott and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary this month and it really doesn't seem to have been that long! He is a wonderful hubby and daddy to us. Right now he is going to school, working a full-time job, and serving as Ward Mission Leader in our ward. All at the same time as being a full-time dad and sweetie! What a great guy! How lucky am I? I have 3 great kids and a great, great Honey :-) He always makes sure it is possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom and to homeschool our kids and he puts up with my never ending projects around the house!

My family really is a little piece of heaven, and anyone who knows our kids will agree to that...well, you sort of have to look at Owen's potential right now since he is REALLY good at being a three year old, but he is turning out to be one great kid.

I have an almost nine year old best friend who I love doing things with. (Her birthday is this Saturday, so she really is almost 9!) Teagan and I spend a lot of time together; we're the only girls in the house, so we have to stick together! We like to cook together, clean together, or just hang out. She is my kid who just likes to be near me while doing whatever; we can be reading seperate books, watching a movie and cuddling, organizing the garage; it doesn't matter. She is just your average little girl, she likes to hang around when I am talking to other adults and listen to our conversations. She has also found a "mommy magic" that makes it so much easier for her to do her school if she is in the same room as I am ~ I keep telling her that me being in the same room doesn't make her any smarter, but she prefers to do school wherever I am! (And boy is she one smart cracker! Almost nine, in the fourth grade and just about to finish it up this week and start fifth grade math and reading next week! She amazes me with how well her mind absorbs information!) One of the most fun things about her is that she loves to play with my hair when we are sitting around together and I love to have her do that! She is my fingernail painting buddy, book review partner, co-pilot, and kitchen aid. We are really blessed to have had her sent to our family!

Then we have Garrett, our six year old ball of energy. He is constantly on HIGH speed all day long. He has the greatest laugh and a smile that melts any sadness away. He loves being active, but is also a serious cuddlebug and is constantly coming up and kissing me and telling me how much he loves me. (This may just be a ploy to get lots of little breaks from doing his studies, but what the hey, I'll take his loving adoration any time!) He wants to be a hero when he grows up and doesn't know if that means he will be a Marine, a fire fighter, or an EMT. As long as he can rescue people and help make their lives better, that's the job for him. And that is his personality ~ constantly moving, but always loving. He is the greatest little buddy around. He loves make up and tell jokes, and even though most of the time it is a little hard to really understand his punchline, he laughs and laughs at them anyways. He loves his big sister and his little brother and is both their strongest advocate and their biggest tease. His green eyes sparkle when he is smiling a big smile and whenever he is in a teasing mood and he already knows that mom loves those eyes of his! He is our kid who should have had multiple trips to the emergency room, but has somehow been spared the trip (though he seems to keep pushing the limits!) At times I am convinced that he is made of rubber bones that don't break because some of the falls and bounces he has had and never gotten seriously hurt from! As a toddler we had to keep poison control on speed dial because he liked to taste things to see what they were and that got him into a couple of things he shouldn't have! At one point the guy on the other end of a call to poison control reassured me that they didn't report my calls to anyone and they were strictly there as a help.... I hadn't asked him if they did or not, I guess he just saw that we were a multiple call number and thought I might like to know!

Last down the line we come to our little Owen. Somehow, he must have gotten ahold of a textbook that describes how three-year olds act, because he does it all, right down to the letter! He is one big personality trapped in a little body and we love him for it! He can be the loudest kid in the house and can also be the most sugary sweet kid the next minute. This week he is on a sugar trip and is constantly telling us all how much he loves us. He will open his arms all the way wide and say "I love you this much" and then we will usually try to up that and say we love him to the ceiling or something tall, then he ups that and will tell us how high he loves and then end it by saying, "yep, and I loved you first!" Owen is Daddy's biggest little pal; when Dad is home, they are usually connected at the hip. He is a Daddy's boy to the max and loves his daddy something fierce! One of the most interesting things about Owen is an adorable affection for dogs he has had ever since he was a toddler which he uses to display his emotions. On his bed there is a cardboard dog house his cousin Josh made him for Christmas in which he sleeps every night and outside of the doghouse he has his menagerie of dogs protecting him. They range in size from one that belonged to a Barbie, who is named James and is the dog who goes with Owen in his pocket on all our outings, to an almost life-sized sheepdog named Nana who loves watching movies with him. Each of his dogs has their own name and, I recently figured out, their own personalities. Sherri, a little puppy whose eyes aren't opened yet, is the dog he carries around when he is either sick, sleepy, or shy. He carries her around whenever he is feeling vulnerable or less than his normally brave self. He has another James, who is bigger than little James, who is his playful pal whenever he is in a rambunctious mood; while Odie is the dog he goes to when he is feeling calm and safe. There are about 5 or 6 other dogs in his pack and it is interesting to see how he is feeling by the dog he is playing with!

Well, that is plenty long enough for a starter blog. I doubt the other posts will be this long-winded, but I was on a roll tonight and I love to boast about my little piece of heaven I call family!