I DON'T NEGOTIATE......

WITH TERRORISTS!!!

Now, My children are pretty cute kids. There are just those moments when I think, "Who are these little people, and when is their mother coming to get them?!?!" There really isn't anything specific to say about this, except that sometimes I think I am in bondage with terrorists.

I mean, look at these angelic faces.

(Ike the Spike)

(Sam the Man)
(Ruth the Tooth)

I need to be Spiritually uplifting, now, to go Visiting Teaching!

Our Weekend in Review

Easter came and went. Well, it came, and then it came again. Then we did more stuff. Easter first hit on Saturday, that's right, a day early. Our Easter Bunny doesn't like loading them up with sugar right before 9 am church when the mom has to sit on the stand for choir, etc, etc.

So we sent them outside while the cutest bunny around hid baskets and eggs. They found them all and enjoyed the sugar fest that afternoon!






On Sunday, we left for Abbie and Poppy's house early to have time to visit UncleAaron'a grave. My brother died almost 6 years ago. Ruthie said earlier this week, "Let's get flowers and put them by that stone for Uncle Aaron."

After leaving the flowers, we high tailed it to the party at Abbie's. Cousins came and we had a yummy ham dinner and then the real fun started. You can't have Easter without a big egg hunt at Abbie and Poppy's house. Each kid gets a basket and is "assigned" an egg. They then are sent out into the yard to hunt those eggs.


Ike and Sam finding eggs.



Every year, it never fails, someone can't find one of their eggs. This year was Collin's turn.


Ruthie and Maddie in almost matching dresses.








Katie and Jeramiah. Gotta have broad shoulders to hold up those bubba cheeks!









Mindy and Joshy. Alex's "mini me"

Ike and Sam with the Roxie dog!








We also made it a night to celebrate the March birthdays. Bryan, Adam and Isaac share March, along with Aaron, but he can't come eat cake with us anymore:(



The tank cake is Isaac's idea. Yep, I made it! I think I need to find pics of all the cakes I've made over the years and post them here!



Today is day one of the 2 day Spring break. We went to the zoo. We haven't been since last summer and have a season pass. We need to get out there more.



We had a blast riding the train.
Wouldn't you know it...a tractor keeps their attention for about 15 minutes straight!









There was a baby giraffe with it's mom (I assume). The kids loved it!

We watched the elephants do some tricks on their own...no trainer! One of them is expecting. It's a 2 year gestation (kinda like how I feel right now) so she isn't showing!










We have one more day of weekend fun, but will most likely spend it at home in the backyard and maybe a bike ride! Hope you all had a great Easter and a very nice weekend!! P.S. This whole post is so not asthetically pleasing to me. I was going to re-do it this morning, and haven't had a chance. So this is what you get. If it is unpleasant to your eye, I apologize!

If only....

St. Patty's WHAT???

I admit I love a holiday, an observance, any excuse to have a party! But today is not one of them. I actually hate St. Patrick's Day. Luckily, my kiddos get themselves dressed. But they do fall under the spell from teachers, classmates, tv, etc, who tell them to wear green. Normally I wouldn't push it, except that NOT wearing green is the direct cause of my stress on this particular day!
I look good in green, don't get me wrong. I just don't want to be hurt if I choose NOT to wear it today. I'm not Irish. If I was, I wouldn't care. Any day specifically designated to cause people harm if they aren't wearing the color of baby diarrhea and food-gone-bad should be banned. That's basically all I have to say about that. My boys did inherit a little Irishness from their dad. He happens to be wearing his green suit, green tie, green socks and green shirt today.

So here are some pics of my oh-so-cute kiddos who got themselves dressed. Can you pick out the one with the least amount of Irish blood??


I will admit that I plan to wear green today. Not because of the ultimate pinches that could result if I don't, but because I happen to look great in it. Yes, even after calling it poop and mold, I will still wear it!!

Still Life...

"Chip Bag and Pencil on the Counter" By: Ruthann

Tagged--Husband post...

I got tagged by my sister Laurie. Here it is...

What is your husband's name? Daniel Lawrence ...

How long have you been together? We met in December 1998, so just over 9 years.

How long did you date? We went on 4 dates over a 21 day period. Who needs to date when you can get engaged and then married!!

Who eats more? Depends on the food and time of day/month/etc...

Who said I love you first? Daniel *sigh*

Who is taller? Daniel, that's why I married him!

Who has more speeding tickets? Hmmm...ME!

Who is smarter? Depends on the subject...math and science-Daniel; art and language-me

Who is more sensitive? Hmm, I cry more, but he is more sensitive.

Who does the laundry? I do. He will help fold when he knows I am tired!

Who does the dishes? I do. He does it only when I absolutely don't care what the dishwasher looks like inside!

Who sleeps on the right? Looking at the headboard, I do.

Who pays the bills? Refer to answer regarding smarts! He does!

Who mows the lawn? He does, but with the riding mower, I get out there sometimes, too.

Who cooks dinner? Sunday-Thursday I do, Friday and Saturday he does.

Who drives when you are together? He always does unless he will go right to sleep...he gets carsick!

Who is more stubborn? Duh-I am!

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? According to the last answer, who do you think?? He is!

Who's parents do you see more often? Mine, I guess it's the wife prerogative!

Who has more siblings? Daniel has 2 brothers and 5 sisters, I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters. I guess the sister ratio is where he gets his sensitivity!

Who wears the pants in the family? Well, well, well. We each have a leg in those pants!

Who eats more sweets? I eat the sweets, he eats the salty.

Guilty pleasures? Me-Survivor, Schwans #364 ice cream (at the same time!) Daniel-computer games and, um, oh, I can't write that!!

How did you meet? I was teaching Gospel Doctrine and he came to the Singles Ward with a mutual friend. He saw me and loved my face and what I said. I saw his smile (teeth!) and his eyes! The friend introduced us the second time he came, by stopping me in the hall and saying, "Jennie, this young man wants to ask you out on a date!" Considering I had given up dating all together right before this meeting, I was completely up for the challenge and am glad I was!

Who asked who out first? He asked me out right then. He called me that night and told me all about him (my lesson the week before consisted of me talking about the loser guys I had recently dated) We went out that Friday night on a double date.

Who kissed who first? We had just decided that we should get married and Daniel said, "I guess we should kiss." So I think we kissed each other!

Who proposed? We had decided to just get married and the following week, after he got the ring, he knelt down and asked me formally! (I cried)

Best Feature? Me! Oh wait, his eyes and his smile!

Best personality trait? He is so easy going and kind. He is so non-judgemental and I strive for that myself.

Pet names? He calls me "love" I call him ....Can I say this on my blog??...

Where do I see us in 15 years? 15 years older and wiser, too. We will be 53 and 52 (I'm younger!)and will have a 23 year old, a 21 year old and a 19 year old. Who knows how old the youngest will be. We will still be living right where we are and possibly just paying for college and missions and looking forward to retirement.

What is my favorite thing about him? I love that he is my husband. No one else can have him or match him. He adores and loves us and thinks the world of our family. He goes out of his way to take the best care of us possible. He works hard and gets better and better every day. He's so darn good looking,too!!

If you are reading this and having fun at it, you are tagged!!

Sarajune Chronicles

Today marks 18 months into our wait for Sarajune. As I was thinking about this last night, I was thinking of the comments I have had from people who think we are entitled to get a child from any specific place among other things. This bothers me, yet when it's said, I can't think fast enough to react appropriately. So here are my responses....

When people say, "She is so lucky"

My response, "What do you mean?? We are the lucky ones. Not just to have her, but to have 3 healthy wonderful children!"


When they say, "You saved her!"

My response, "We are building our family. We happen to be nice people who love our children."


When they say, "Why don't you adopt from the US?? There are so many children here who need families."

My response, "Why don't you adopt them?" (OK, OK) "We prayed, fasted, went to the temple, researched and prayed some more. China is where she was. If she had been born here, we would have adopted her from the US."


When they say, "There are so many babies over there. Why don't they just let you go get one?"

My response, "First of all, China is trying to take care of her own. We are not going shopping for a child. We wait, like everyone else for our baby."


When they say, "Can you imagine her life if you hadn't adopted her?"

My response, "Um, no." (alright) "Yes, of course I can. But really, I can't." "Can I imagine MY life if I hadn't adopted her??"


When they say, "You picked the easy way to have kids."

My response, "You have no idea the reality of adoption, do you? There is no easy way to build a family!"


When they say, "Wow, don't you wish they would keep having babies and abandoning them so you can adopt faster?"

My response, "HELL NO!!" (ummmm) "Actually, no. That would go completely against my code as a moral and decent person. I would rather just see those babies being born into loving arms that will care for them, allow them to stay in their birth culture and I would for go any further adoptions, including the one we are waiting on, to see China completely taking care of all her citizens."


When they say, "Does she know she's adopted?"

My response, "Umm, yes!"

When they say, "She's beautiful. Where is she from?"

My response, "Ogden area, Utah."

When they say, "How can you love someone who doesn't even look like you?"

My response, "How can you love your spouse, who doesn't even look like you??"

When they say, "Your own children" (referring to my boys)

My response, "They are ALL my own children."

I guess there have to be the few really dense people and those who are just regular people who don't quite get it out there to mix it up a little. Life is good. We are all happy, healthy and loving each other. Can't ask for more, I suppose!

Woohoo! Pictures!

Here they are!!!

Can you say "Future Missionary"?! This is Sunday morning when we finally had a chance for a picture in the suit with the new scriptures (see the freshly painted baseboards??)...
Three munchkins...

Just before the Baptism (sorry about the flash glare!)...
Aahh..the Transformer cake...

Isaac and Meme (pronounced Maymay), my grandmother...
Isaac and the mom and dad (notice there is no suit!, he refused to put it back on for pictures)...

Isaac and Grandma and Grandpa (notice the pocketknife ((from Grandpa)) is in all the pics)...
Isaac with Abbie and Poppy (why didn't anyone think to close the blinds?)...

My feet still hurt. My house looks good. Isaac is ready for his first Cub Den meeting tonight. Sam and Ruthie can't wait for their turn to get Baptized. Daniel and I couldn't be happier!!

Big Baptism Day

Ok, So I'm a little slow at posting a very important day! I kept trying to upload pictures yesterday and the thing kept giving me an error message. This morning I tried again and had to upload one at a time, which took FOREVER. Then I realized I was so tired I could hardly talk. So I took a nap. Here I am ready to upload one picture at a time and the camera battery is dead!! So I will give a brief synopsis and then get photos on later...

Saturday beamed bright and beautiful. OK, a little gray and rainy, but beautiful to us. We started with presents for the birthday boy. Lots of Bionicles and Transformers. (Disclaimer: No, my children have not seen the movie! They are products of the commercial media and the great movement to take over our children's minds. They apparently succeeded with my boys on the Transformer part!) We gave him his Cub uniform and Wolf book, too. He didn't get into opening that, so we kept saying, "Take the stuff out of the bag! There might be something more in there!" So finally and reluctantly, he dumped the bag. He saw the little box and didn't realize what it was. Sometimes you just have to say the obvious! A pocket knife. He was sooooo thrilled he could hardly stand it! His very own pocket knife! I guess it's a right of passage. We went through all the rules, etc, and still had to take it from him at church yesterday! He won't be sneaking it in again.

We got everyone gorgeous and ready to go shortly after noon. Family and friends came. The meeting was wonderful. Isaac was so excited and nervous. I was nervous and excited, too. Everything went without a hitch and we now have the cleanest, purest boy in the world! I asked him later that day how he felt and he said, "I feel really good inside". It's what a mom wants to hear. I could see in him that he did feel really good. We are so proud of our son! What a great experience to see your own child enter the waters of Baptism and make sacred covenants! What a great day!

We had everyone come over for lunch after. Grandma and Grandpa gave Isaac new scriptures with his name on them, and Abbie and Poppy gave him a scripture case, a book mark, scripture pencil and "Future Missionary" tag. He had a blast playing with cousins and friends. Oh, and Grandpa seemed so be on the same brain wave as Daniel, because he gave Isaac a pocket knife, too. A big one! With Scissors, a flashlight and so many other gadgets, I couldn't get to them all before Ike took it from me!

I remember as a teenager, my mom said to us girls..."There are 3 things you need to be able to see your future husband doing before deciding to marry him. Can you see him kneeling across the altar from you in the temple? Can you see him holding and giving your new baby a name and blessing? and Can you see him baptizing your children?" Yes, Yes and Yes! I have seen each one and am so grateful to have Daniel and each of our kids in my life. It just wouldn't be any fun without them!!

P.S. I just tried the picture thing again, and it won't do a darn thing!!

King Kong vs Godzilla

Samuel has this thing for old monster movies. His latest is the one he borrowed from Grandma and Grandpa called "King Kong versus Godzilla". It's got dubbed voices and bad acting. He just loves it. So last night he and Ike and Ruthie built this tower. They are King Kong and Godzilla and Kong (Ruthie) is supposed to be shooting fire at Zilla (Sam). Then they have to break down the tower. So Daniel got the camcorder out and shot the whole scene. Now that we have a newer, faster, sleeker computer, he did a few edits to slow it down. So this is the slo mo part that just tickles their funny bones! The kids just watch their video all day long (ok, except when they go to school, etc). Watch as Sam waits to get our reaction before jumping up and down. They are lucky they didn't break the window!

Monday...

Hmmm...not much going on here, but I feel the need to post something. I mostly finished the kids' bathroom Saturday. The painting is done, the towels are done (hooded towels that I sewed myself!), hardware is up and done, got a new stool for the kiddos to reach the sink, and the new shower curtain is up. The shower curtain is the inspiration for the decor. I tried my hand at pics of the room, but all I got were weird angles that didn't make sense and then this weird lady in the mirror. Oh, wait! That was me. So not cool. So no pics for now. I still need to get a cute picture of my kids and other stuff on the minimal wall space. I am also thinking of painting cute squares that match the squares on the curtain. You might have to just see the whole thing to see what I mean.

I also painted all the walls, baseboards and doors. Everything that I touched up looks fabulous! I just love the newness of paint! I organized and cleaned out my laundry room, too. I just cooked the chicken and am thawing the ground beef to cook for the Taco Bar after the Baptism Saturday. I will just freeze it and then thaw it and put it in crock pots. Not going to just put it in my fridge until Saturday...GROSS! I did Sharing Time yesterday, so that is done a week early...thanks, Lori! I feel good. I still have a busy week, but all in all, it's gonna be great!

Since this really isn't anything exciting and new and I can't get good pictures of the bathroom, I thought I would put my cute kids on for your viewing pleasure! here you are...

Ruthie enjoyed watching a little TV today while her boys were at school. Every girl should be able to just lounge on the couch everyday! She always has the same secret for me..."Mommy, I love you!"
Sam and his big brown eyes are irresistable! It's hard to say no to a third corndog for lunch when he looks like that!
Isaac is just days away from his 8th birthday and Baptism. Last night I had him try on the Baptism jumpsuit...I almost started to cry! He walked into church yesterday wearing his new suit! WOWZERS! Handsome young man. Not so old that he can't just flip upsidedown on the chair, though!
Ahh...life is good at our house. I think it could only get better with a trip to Hawaii! I'll start my imaginary vacation soon!