B.U.S.Y.

So, here's the latest:

I got called to be the YW's advisor. I say "The" instead of "A" because in our ward there are not very many young women, so there is a presidency, and me...and that's it! But what's nice is that we all just rotate teaching, so I only have to teach once every 5 weeks. It's been really fun, and I love having a reason to prance out the door every Wednesday, leaving Samuel behind to put the kids to bed.
This week we have some extra visitors! My good friend Kat and her hubs are on a week-long vaycay to Hawaii (and Washington for a wedding) so we have these cute little faces to wake up to every day:

They are such good kids (AND THE GREATEST SLEEPERS EVER!) but still, I do not have enough hands to meet the needs of 4 little ones as fast as they need me too. It's a little tricky too because one is kind of a picky eater, and then Annie has all those allergies, so in essence I am coming up with 4 different meals for 4 different kids. Also, Annaliese is a little jealous of the baby, and Kalia is also a little crazy about wanting to hold her and entertain her (she's 9 months old, so it's not like she needs to be held) but anyway, it's been the busiest week I've had in years, and the bedtime hours have never been such a relief. It's been a great experience for me to realize that my life with 2 kids is really quite easy, compared to life with 4! My sweet visiting teacher just brought me dinner tonight, which was SO NEEDED, I'm sure Samuel hasn't eaten anything but frozen dinners for days, and I've been surviving off of oreos...(I've been comfort eating...big time) but anyway, thank you so much Kristi for the fabulous dinner!
My little brother Jonny went into the MTC yesterday. I wish I could have been there for a few more late-night games of Settlers, and to say one more goodbye. (I stole this off my sister's blog, this was taken right before he went to the MTC). We were able to see him 10 days ago when we drove up to St. George for his farewell. He's going to Argentina (Mendoza) and he's going to be an awesome Elder. I only have one more younger sibling, she just turned 16, so who knows if she'll go...this might be my last sibling in the mission field.

Last night Samuel and I watched the Michael Jackson movie This Is It. I don't know how I missed out on him when I was a kid, but I just never really listened to him or knew that much about him, so last night was really the first time I've ever SEEN Michael Jackson, and wow, I have to say, I was pretty blown away. It's sad that he's passed away. He was absolutely incredible, and so so so talented. Samuel and I decided that he's probably already accepted the gospel in the Spirit world. Weird or not...he seems like a great guy with a good heart. (And to those of you who have seen this, were you not totally blown away by his cool blond guitarist? I love her!)


I also just finished this book by Lynn Austin called Candle in the Darkness. It's a novel about the Civil war, and it really got me thinking...about what life would be like if (when) war breaks out in the U.S. again, and why food storage is so crucial, and how awful it would be to send all the men off to war. It was a GREAT book, it has a strong Christian theme, and I highly recommend it. (I had to wait quite a long time for it at the library, has anyone else read this?)
And that's all for now.

Random Pictures from November/December

Catching up on the last two months with tons of pictures!! Above is Annaliese turning one and enjoying her special wheat-free/corn-free/dairy-free cake. (And some have you have been asking, but GREAT news, we were able to get her special formula covered by insurance, so no more worries there! It's delivered right to our door, and we don't pay a penny. Thank goodness for that blessing!)
I love my parents! My mom's hair has grown back (post-chemotherapy) extremely curly. Still so beautiful though!
Ward Christmas party
I put Kalia to bed and I heard her sneak out for a second, and then sneak back in to bed. I went to give her a lecture about staying in bed, but I found this in the hallway, and I decided I better drop the lecture, especially since she was being so considerate of her stuffed penguin.


Eyes still not brown...just a few random streaks in each eye.

#1: We put a twin mattress on the stairs and the girls will climb and slide it for at least a half hour. That's a long time for them.
#2: We call Annie "Lloyd" because of the Dumb & Dumber haircut that I gave her on accident (just trying to trim those bangs!)
#3: Kalia has the best 6-pack in the whole family. Can you see it? I can't wait to get that girl in gymnastics. I consistently find her hanging and doing tricks on the bar in her closet.

Vids for the Grandmas

Well if any of you love Orson Scott Card as much as I do (and his books about Ender Wiggins) then you might recognize the term "vids". Anyway... these are a few videos for the relatives who like them:

This is only a few seconds long, (and this is literally the backyard of the house I grew up in) but the best part is at the end when Kalia does a little victory dance and shouts some sort of exclamation.


This video doesn't have any picture because I took it at night while I was laying by Kalia. We used to put her to sleep by scratching/tickling her back and singing her favorite songs over and over. Then she decided SHE wanted to do the singing and the back tickling. This little voice just melts my heart, especially the part when she stops right in the middle and says, "Mommy is so happy when I sing 'Families.' " :)

Deep Breath...Lots to Update on...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We have been traveling and I think I am officially partied-out and DONE traveling! At least for 2 more weeks when we have to go back to St. George for my brother's mission farewell. Anyway, it is so good to be home, and I'm finally staying up late to get some blogging done. Where to begin?

Life is good. December turned out to be the best month we've had all year. For real. I guess it was the first Christmas where we were on the "receiving end" of a lot of kindness and generosity and service. I couldn't believe how much of the Christmas Spirit I was feeling, since we weren't able to do much giving. I just felt so loved and humbled.

I turned 29 a few weeks ago...Samuel let me spend the entire day doing everything I wanted. It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. And I got to eat at Cafe Rio AND Olive Garden within 24 hours. Does it get better than that? I was completely kid-free for 24 hours (maybe it was closer to 36...) and it was a much-needed break.

But I want to thank a few of you (you know who you are!) who wanted to help us out this year...we wouldn't have had much of a Christmas (or a birthday) without you. It means a lot to us! We were able to stretch the "generosity" and get some necessities...and more!

So, in no order at all, here's a few bright spots from the month:

1. For the first time in our married life we said good-bye to mismatched sheets and random blankets and got a "Comforter Set." If you haven't checked out KINGLINEN.COM then you're missing out!! Amazing prices and machine washable stuff. Ignore the "SALE ENDS TODAY" line...it says that every day. Anyway, this is what our bed looks like now and I love it...it feels so elegant now in our room.
We spent Christmas in St. George with my family this year. It was SOOOOOOO much fun. This is my youngest sister Kimberlee with Annaliese.

And here I am, happy because I'm playing my NEW ADDICTION: Settlers of Catan. All the married couples would stay up til 2 or 3 a.m. playing this game. I even won once, which is probably why I'm happy in this picture, but anyway, I am still trying to figure out ways to play that game every weekend.
Annaliese and Grandma Karen (some of you might notice that my mom's kitchen is completely remodeled. It's like three times bigger. It was so nice, since it was SERIOUSLY overcrowded in that house on Christmas.) We celebrated three nights in a row with all the extended family. We were lucky to have a bed.

The little cousins sang their musical numbers.
And the other big exciting gift? A steam mop! LOVE IT!
Christmas morning on the stairs (before getting to see what Santa brought.) This picture is an Esplin family tradition.

So, I totally did not put up any pictures of what the kids got for Christmas, but don't worry, they got some fun little gems too.