Random Fun!

Scott has been working a lot lately and the kids hardly ever see him. They get so happy when Scott gets home from work, it's like a huge party at our house when he walks in the door...it is very cute. They want daddy to hold them and they just love him so much.

I love this picture for so many reasons...first of all, Brielle is on Scott bum and she was just chilling there...Braden is on top of Scott and is holding his phone...and Scott is loving life and all the attention he always gets from them!!!!

I am usually an enemy of messes like this...but the other day I made chocolate pudding and Braden had the time of his life making a mess of himself...sometimes you just gotta let them be messy!!!

This picture is totally random but I was looking through our family pictures from last year and I hadn't even noticed that we had this one...This is definitely NOT picture perfect, BUT it definitely depicts what our life is like sometimes...HA! HA! HA! Not so perfect...

Looking Back...

I was just looking at pictures of the kids when they were born and pictures in between and now... and it hit me how much they have changed! It's crazy to think that Brielle only weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces when she was born and now she weighs almost 25 pounds, still petite, but she was really so tiny when she was born. And Mr. Braden weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and now he almost weighs as much as Brielle does and he's a year younger!!!! These children bring joy to my life! I can't imagine my life without them!!!!

February 2006

May 2006

August 2007

February 2007

August 2007

April 2008

April 2007

June 2007

October 2007

April 2008

February 2008

These two are the best of friends! Brielle is Braden's other mommy and Braden LOVES to tease Brielle! He takes her toys away from her and runs as fast as he can with a HUGE smile on his face!!! I love watching these two interact!!!

Fun Outside!

We had the most beautiful weather this weekend!!! We had such a fun time playing outside! On Saturday we spent the day at grandma Jensen's house while we waited for Scott to get off work from the Olive Garden. The kids played in her backyard and I can tell they loved every second. Brielle didn't want to come inside so she spent pretty much the whole day playing out there. After Scott got off we went to the river by the Idaho Falls Temple and we fed the ducks. We had such a fun time and therefore the plethora of pictures. This weekend was the perfect way to end my short one-week vacation! My last semester teaching at BYU-Idaho starts tomorrow!!!!

My kids adore their great-grandma, they love spending time with her and I feel so blessed that they get to have all these pictures with her!!! She is the best and we love her, we always have fun when we hang out with grandma Jensen!!!!:) On the top picture, I told Braden to smile and say cheese and instead he closed his eyes!!! Silly boy!

Brielle loved playing in the backyard, she especially LOVED playing with the dirt, she even ate it! Yuck!!!!

I know I am completely biased, like every parent is about their kids, but this little boy Mr. Braden as we call him, melts my heart!!!!

Going to feed the ducks at the river was one of the funnest things we've done outside in a long, long time! Brielle was literally taking her shoes off to jump in the water with the ducks!!! The funnest thing was watching Brielle call the ducks, "come here duckies", and her version of quack, quack, quack was the best!!!

Trying to get a picture of Brielle holding still is nearly impossible! Here is my attempt of getting a cute picture of the 3 of them! But look at the one with Scott and Braden! Perfect!!!!:)

Last but not least, the story of the day...of course it includes Brielle...we were in sacrament meeting today and Brielle was not cooperating, she tried, she really did, but she wasn't having it...we were sitting there trying to pay attention and all of a sudden, like always, it always catches both Scott and I totally off guard...she says in a very serious face to Scott, "Scottie, let's go home, go potty and eat!!!" She was ready!!!!!!

Annoying Influeza Virus...

I wish I could say that I have been playing with my 2 kids outside in the wonderful almost 60 degree weather this last week...I really wish...I have been bedridden for the last few days. I got the Influenza stinking virus for the first time in my life! I never really knew what this annoying virus was all about, I had heard about it all of my life but never got the disgrace of getting it until last Monday when it all started. Not a good week, considering it was finals week...there's never a good week to get this miserable virus...but this week in particular was very uncalled for!!!!! Scott had gotten it the week before and he was basically dying...but since he's a boy I thought that he must be exaggerating a little...boy was I WRONG!!! He was NOT exaggerating one bit...On Monday I came down with the first symptoms, the week went by and my life doesn't stop the moment I get sick so I kept pushing and pushing, especially on Thursday, I went and gave my finals and went out with some of my girlfriends from the ward (we had been planning this for months!!!) I debated for a long time whether to go or not...I got ready last minute and went...I stayed up until VERY late talking and having a great time...on Friday when I woke up I felt so sick but I was still able to care for my house and my children, so I kept pushing it and pushing it until Saturday when this most annoying illness took its toll on me and left me lethargic the whole day! I could hardly move...Scott had to work at the Olive Garden and I frankly couldn't care for my two little angels...he took them to his parents' until he got off. I literally stayed in bed ALL day long. I think I got up twice to go to the bathroom, I wondered around the apartment once and realized what a huge mess it was, dishes in the sink, toys all over the place, clothes, it was crazy!!!...I have lost 3 pounds because of my complete lack of appetite this whole week, nothing sounded appealing and nothing tasted good. It's almost like my taste buds were mutilated or something...I am feeling A LOT better today but not completely better...I can at least function...I still have to grade finals and enter in grades by Wednesday!!! Oh man!!! And to make things worse my poor little Braden is sick now too, Brielle is a little sick but not that bad...we will survive!!!:)...I hope...

BYU-Idaho Foreign Language Department

As most of you know I teach Spanish part-time at BYU-Idaho and we recently had our department picture taken. I'm getting rather melancholic at the thought that in a few months I will no longer be teaching. I have enjoyed every second of teaching at BYU-Idaho. I am very passionate about teaching Spanish, I love the grammar and I love the challenge of being able to transfer the information to students! I have had wonderful and intelligent students and I have had a blast with them everyday! It really doesn't feel like I'm going to "work"! The only times that it feels like work is when I have piles of papers to grade and children demanding my full attention!!! Other than that I feel EXTREMELY blessed! Most of the people you see in this picture have touched my life in various ways! Many of them were my professors when I was still a student and others I have just been associated with since I started working here. It has been a blessing to see these outstanding people almost everyday for the last almost 4 years!!! I will miss them and I will miss teaching...

Two Toddlers Underfoot

I read this article a few days ago and it touched me deeply, it brought tears to my eyes! I can completely identify with this mom! I love what it teaches! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did! It is short and sweet!:)

Two Toddlers Underfoot

By Ida L. Ewing

Ensign, Apr 2006, 57

At the end of a particularly unproductive day, I found myself feeling exasperated at my inability to get anything done with two toddlers constantly underfoot. I decided to call my older sister, Treisa, for some advice. She has three active boys, yet she remains cheerful and calm. Treisa commiserated with me and said my struggles brought to mind an experience she had had shortly after moving from their small trailer.
Treisa had expected that after the move into a larger home, her children would build toy castles somewhere other than in front of the kitchen sink and would no longer need to use the pile of laundry she was folding as the base for their hide-and-seek games. Somehow, though, that change never occurred—her children continued to exist in a sort of holding pattern around her legs. But, she told me, one day she came across a passage of scripture in Mark 10:13–14, 16 that helped her overcome her frustrations.
After our conversation I read:
“And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
“But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. …
“And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.”
I noticed that just before this incident with the children, Christ was challenged by the Pharisees. He easily could have felt tired or irritable, yet He welcomed the children, picked them up, and blessed them.
I pondered this selfless act of love, focusing on what it could mean for me as a mother. I realized that too often I pushed my children away. But if I follow Christ’s example, then even when the laundry and dishes are piling up, the bills need to be paid, and I’ve had too little sleep, I can stop, take my children in my arms, and love them. Perhaps this was what my sister was trying to tell me—when your children are in your arms, they are no longer underfoot.

I miss him...

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." Gordon B. Hinckley http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695248205,00.html

I'm going to miss seeing President Hinckley's face and hear his voice this Saturday!!!! What an incredible man! He lived his life with so much conviction!!! What a great example!!! I look forward to seeing him again someday!!! I support President Monson as the new prophet! He is an amazing man too and I love him!!! President Hinckley has a special place in my heart though!!! If we can all be "a little kinder" like he always used to say, the world would be a different place! I need to keep that in mind everyday!