Handsome Little Cowboy

I know, he's all dressed up for church...but I'm just introducing to my blog my baby boy, who will go by "cowboy" in future posts.  He's such a sweetie, we just love that he is in our family!

Jr. Goes to Preschool

An awesome part about us *still* being in VG is that I am doing a rotating preschool with 4 other moms.  Jr. is just loving the time at friends' houses and he's learning a lot too.  He's taken his time learning colors, letters, and numbers compared to the girls because its taken a long time for him to be interested!  He's much more into taking things apart and building them...and playing with cars and trains.

Anyhow, yesterday he named the color of each car of his train and I was so proud.  He's also started to really enjoy having a book read to him (as long as it is about construction equipment or race cars :).  I'm excited for the day he can read and finds that joy that his sisters have in a good book.

My Man

Mr. Warmth up in the ceiling preparing the base and wiring for a ceiling fan.

He can do anything!  He can do plumbing, electrical, carpentry work, car mechanic work, irrigate a field, move a herd of cattle, change a diaper, take three kids camping....AND he's even a great lawyer as a day job.  I'm so proud to be married to him.  I love the life we have together.

The First Day of School 2011

We walked to Bancroft as we've done the last 3 years.  We have a fourth and a second grader this year.  They are growing up!

The Family Scrapbook

I REALLY REALLY want to document these busy but fleeting years with my four little ones.  Right now I am keeping lots of different written journals, as well as sometimes blogging, sometimes facebooking, and long emails to my family.  Then, I upload my pictures to a web service and make books to be printed there.  It seems like I have a lot of overlap that could all be done in one format.

As of right now, I'm guessing my most efficient option is blogging here with pictures and journaling and then using one of the services that prints your blog into a book.

Any of you tried that?  Do you have any advice or suggestions?

Small Successes

• The girls on time to school every day so far.
• new bathroom floor, vanity, girl's room wood floor
• van still running
• enough dishes done for breakfast each morning
• kids up to date on health care appts
• bills up to date
• hubby been at job a year now!
• baby #4 has baby book (actually 2 now)
• have kept the 20 lbs off lost this year

Life's Sweetest Experiences

In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.

                                                DIETER F. UCHTDORF

Summer Over

And I promise I'll remove that sidebar soon :)

So we sold our place, and bought another unit in the same complex.  Much, much smaller, though.  The six of us have 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and no basement like we had before.  It is stretching us to our emotional limits with each other, to put it mildly.

At least once a day I ask myself, "Why are we doing this?"  Problem is we are so far in now, we're committed to doing something.  We have to buy a house, so we're keepin' on with the one we're having built.  Have they actually built it yet?  No.

Have they even broken ground or starting digging a hole of any kind?  That would be a no, also.  But at this point we are sticking with it--although the thought has crossed my mind that the builder may be the one backing out.  We've gone almost a week without getting return calls or emails from the realtor again.

I'm holding on to the hope that this is for our good for whatever reason.  Well, I know it is.  God leads me and has guided us a lot in this process.  We're in it for a reason.  I'll just keep going forward with a smile on my face!