It's Been a Long, Long Time

So, I know I've been AWOL from by blog lately! And no, Aaron is not signed up for AP English, Ethan hasn't left on his mission, and Noah isn't starting his first year of college...yet! It just seems like it's been that long since I've posted.

Have you ever noticed that after you have kids time just seems to fly by (and flies by even faster with each additional one you add)? Life has been just that lately, busy. And it's one of those times in life where there's so much on your list (is anyone else as obsessed with lists as I am?!) that you just take one thing at a time, exert all your effort just to get from one thing to the next, and finally after two weeks of craziness when it all just settles down then...you get a miserable, stuffy-head, runny-nose cold.

But, the past few weeks have been filled with a lot of good things too (eustress, as they call it) as you'll see in a few posts I have in queue. And although I can't promise there won't be another long-length hiatus (and not that it really matters to anyone else but myself!), it's good to be back in the bloggin' world again!

It's Official!

Happy 2nd day of spring everyone! Isn't it so awesome to think that winter is finally over and spring is officially here (even if it doesn't really feel like it yet?)! In honor of the new season, here are a few quotes that made me smile.

• Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil. - Reginald Heber
  


• Spring is when life's alive in everything. - Christina Rossetti



• Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, a box where sweets compacted lie. - Herbert



• Your time has come, now hasten little snowflakes, To vanish quite away; The spring-tide hours are sounding gentle warnings forbidding you to stay. - M.E. Hathaway



• If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. - Anne Bradstreet



• Now Nature hangs her matle green On every blooming tree, And spreads her sheets o' daisies white Out o'er the grassy lea. - Robert Burns



• Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today; And give us not to think so far away As the uncertain harvest; keep us here All simply in the springing of the year. - Robert Frost

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So I haven't posted in awhile because we really haven't had anything big or exciting or amazingly fun going on in our lives. I've been at quite a loss trying to find something to post about. Have you ever noticed that for the most part, that's how life goes? It's like when someone asks "So, what have you been up to?" and you're not really sure how to answer. I'm sure they aren't really asking "So, how many diapers did you change today?" or "How long did it take to make dinner last night?" or even "How many trips=miles=gas=money did the kids make to preschool this week?" No doubt about it, life is great but sometimes there's not much noteworthy to tell about from day to day.

Well this post is about some of our day to day stuff, because that's all that's been going on around here for the most part. And true to the title, most of it has been good, some bad, and a even a little bit of ugly.

The Good
Dinner as a family was a blast last night! As I'm sure many of you can understand, dinner as a family is not always a lot of fun. It usually includes a lot of nagging like "sit down," "eat your food" and a lot of questions from the kids like "how many more bites?" and "can I get down now?" To be honest Chad and I usually end up frazzled by the end of dinner. BUT, last night was so much fun. Ethan and Noah were being so cute and we all sat around the table telling jokes and laughing till our sides hurt. Ethan and Noah would tell jokes that (honestly) didn't make much sense but were hilarious anyway, and Chad and I only knew old boring jokes like "Why did the chicken cross the road?" and "Knock knock, who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" but the boys laughed anyway. It was a really, really GOOD time.

...And All the Other Stuff
I won't focus on too much of the bad/ugly other that to say that my step-dad had surgery yesterday (but it's good now because he's on his way to recovery!) and that Ethan had some kind of stomach illness or bug and was throwing up all last night--I'm convinced it was the raw cookie dough he ate last night (sneaking it after he'd already been told not to eat it!)

But all in all, even though life at times really is not very exciting, it is still great and we have so much to be thankful for. I have a sweet and wonderful husband, and three adorable and fun little boys. They are my everything.

In conclusion, I'll end this post with my favorite quote of all time from President Hinckley:

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, side tracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

So true.