It's September 26th. School started August 20th. Which means my last post was over a month ago. Just call me the bloggin' queen!! And for someone who makes her living with a camera, aren't the photos on this blog AMAZING?

OK...I'll go a little easier on myself. I read other's cute creative blogs, and while I consider myself creative, when it comes to blogging...I'm NOT! I'm just RANDOM. It's a personal journal of sorts, and anyone who knows me knows I love to write in my journal(s)...this blog is a definate extension of that.

In my last post, I talked about working on becoming a morning person. I'm actually doing OK! I don't make it up at 5:30 every morning, but I do manage to be up and about and really enjoy my mornings with my kids and hub before the madness of the day begins. Not to say I don't HATE morning, and get a case of the Sunday night blues thinking...ugh, another week of this. When I wake up I just dont want to get up. I once heard a wise person say however, that she tells her kids that "the first five minutes (of waking) are the worst." Thats so true! Make it off the pillow and off the potty...and you're pretty much up and at it.


My favorite things about morning:
Karly, in her pink pajamas or nightgown, jumping happily out of bed the minute we wake her. She is all smiles and cuddles and pillow-messed hair...SUCH a morning girl. She thuds around through the house looking for toys or her cup...I love the vision of her in her PJ's.

Zac, in his favorite Sponge Bob PJ's, usually lying sprawled out on our bed (where he ends up every morning) absolutely ignoring all my and Dave's attempts to wake him (Zac is NOT a morning person). Sometimes we finally get him giggling and he'll wake up, sometimes I have to literally lift him off the bed and do the "Zombie Walk" (Me, supporting him from behind, both of us with our arms stretched out in front of us kinda like Frankenstein, and me moving his feet with mine)

We all usually snuggle up on the couch, and catch a little of The Wiggles, or Bob the Builder, if it's Karly's turn to choose, or if it's a Zac morning, Tom & Jerry or Sponge Bob. (I love Sponge Bob. I watch it when the kid's are not around!)

Finally, I end up pausing the TV (love the DVR generation!) and we get dressed. I love dressing Karly. She's getting more and more independent, but still lets me dress her. We play a silly game everytime...I pretend to be in a panic when we pull her shirt over her head "Ahh! Oh no! Where's Karly? Where is she?" then feign relief when her little smiling face pops thru the neck line "Oh!! Whoo! There she is!" Then we repeat with hands, and legs, and she is giggling like crazy...and then to top it off the "sock monster" comes sniffing around, hungry for toes and eats her toes as we put her socks on. Giggles, laughing, wonderful moments I want to remember forever and want my kids to remember! Zac does the same games with her...and gets her laughing! Or, if we're having a "cranky " morning, the kids (and usually the big people) fight a bit.

Some mornings we fight, some mornings we laugh, all mornings we love each other.

I think my favorite times are when we all start out cranky but manage to turn it around through humor. One day we were just all on one and laying into each other, and I just started singing in this really gravelly-low pitched voice (To the tune of the Primary Song 'We are a Happy Family': "I hit Zacky, he hits me, we hit Mommy yes-sir-ree, we all smacked Dad and so you see, we are a CRANKY FAM-ILL-LEE!" Giggles help, when you're ready to beat your kids!

When it's time to leave, if I'm staying behind and working at home I always end up out in the garage giving last second hugs and kisses....heaven forbid, but if something were to ever happen to any one of us, I want the last thing my kids and hub to hear me say to them is "I love you."

We had a tragedy in our community this past week. A beautiful 12 year old boy, star wrestler,(Literally a decorated national wrestling champion) future missionary, the only boy in a family of 4 other girls, all around awesome kid...died in a tragic accident while on a scout trip. I've known him and his family for years, took his picture before he was baptized, and while we are not close to his family, we are aquainted. Good people. I cannot and do not want to understand the pain they must feel. It has shaken me to the core, and reminded me how fragile and precious our lives are. I can honor this boy by loving my own kids more, by appreciating them and hugging them and enjoying their silliness and seriousness and loving every single minute with them. When I'm exasperated with one of them (or both, which happens often) I remind myself to be grateful that I have them around to be exasperated with.

Every night when we're home and we're all in bed, I'm so thankful to have had another day with these people that are my life.

Guess I better go to bed. Soon it will be morning.