Happy All Hallows' Eve

Frigthmares with our friends Allison, Jack, and Nate!

Wrinkly Noses

 Geddy, 18 Months

Jennsen, 16 Months

Mom's Cabin

Highlights

• Relaxing on the swing on the newly completed decks!
• Geddy catching a whopper!
• Geddy learning to swim in the deep end with his life jacket on
• Spending time with Mom and Mark . . .and learning they are engaged!!!
• Mom's cookin'
• Lovin on my little lady
• Geddy bugging the "girls" (breanna and her friends)

Lazy Sunday Evening with Mama

Do you ever want to "hoard" your Mom? My mom now lives just 2 miles from us in Farmington and I (and my kdis) can't seem to get enough of her. I was teasing her it had been like 2 weeks, no 2 months, since I had seen her last. We calculated that it had been just over 8 days! Well, that is a long time when she lives just 2 miles from you!!!!

Holy Cow this girl looks just like her Mama, and I am told has the same temperament that I had (whiney, feisty, temper, etc) as a baby. I thanked my mom tonight for putting up with me as a baby!

And this guy looks like a little kid I once knew as my neighbor . . . Brennan!

Sometimes a girl just likes to cuddle up to her Mama!

 

I was trying to get a pic of just me and Mama, but Geddy kept crawling into the picture. He'd say, "common' girls" and wrap his arms around our necks and pose for the picture.

Some thoughts on Motherhood

Being a mother was and is my all time dream, but I am not going to lie, I often struggle finding joy in it! I don't feel bad saying this because I have conferred with all my close friends and this is a common feeling among mothers! I am trying to do better and have been inspired by a book called "Daughters of God: Scriptural Portraits," by S. Michael Wilcox. Proverbs 31 is awesome! I didn't realize (or remember) that is is loaded with the good stuff! You know it, the one about the virtuous woman, her worth far above that of rubies. There are many virtues that a virtuous women possesses. "She worketh willingly with her hands and  . . . her candle goeth not out." (Proverbs 31:13,18). Motherhood is hard and dang it we just have to dig in and accept that and keep at it! A virtuous woman is wise and kind, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness." (Proverbs 31:26). Quoting from Michael Wilcox, "Her word is law, but it is obeyed because it is kind, not angry, threatening, or nagging. Her word is followed because it is wise." Wow, what an amazing thing to aspire to, to have our kids follow our words because they are kind and wise. I hate raising my voice at Geddy, but I find when I LOWER my voice and say please, he often responds better and does not REACT with growling dinosaur noises. I want my children to call me "blessed" (Proverbs 31:28) and say, "thou excellest them all." (Proverbs 31:29). I have felt inspired and want to do better!

My sweethearts

Don't be fooled by this picture. This is not how my kids get along most of the time, but I like to look at it and pretend it is!!!

Keepin' Busy

Besides chasing after two kids all day, I have been keeping busy working outside of the home. I love my part time job and am grateful to work for my wonderful friends and neighbors, the Nasers. When Geddy was a baby and I did accounting one day a week, it was all I could do to stay at work for at least 3 hours. For some reason, work is lot "easier" for me now, and I look forward to going to work.   
   Perks of the job:

• Mostly weekends, so Brennan can watch the kids
• Great pay for a part, part time job
• I get to see cool weddings and cute brides
• I get to eat good food (Cafe Rio and ColdStone yummy!)
• I get to hang out at cool places, like a Bed and Breakfast in Midway and Red Butte Gardens

Check out what I do . . .  (I do photo booths at weddings!)

Jennsen turns ONE!

Wow, where has the time gone? I check blogs almost every day, but I just lack the motivation to do my own. But for some reason I am in the mood tonight, after losing my volleyball game!

Jennsen turned ONE on April 15. We celebrated by having a quiet meal at home and of course our favorite - cake! I wasn't going to get her any presents, I tend to be anti-presents. But at the last moment I ran over to the shops (ie. Station Park) and grabbed her a cabbage patch baby doll. Jennsen is seriously one great gal. I mean, let's be honest, she does not have the same temperament as Geddy. She does cry a lot more, and is more irritable. However, she just melts my heart [almost] every second of every day. I still can't believe we got pregnant with her and Heavenly Father has blessed us so much with her arrival.

To Become as a Little Child

And Jesus said, "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." (Mark 10:15). Also, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 18:4)

I can't count the number of times in a day that Geddy tells me I am cute, that he loves me, that I am his best Mama, and or the number of kisses he gives me. Just thinking how beautiful this world would be if we all were like a little child!

The perfect picture

Check out these perfect pictures! This is how I spend my lazy days, just reading to my children, playing with them every waking moment, never yelling or getting upset with them. Plus my children never fight and are always super kind to each other. Ha! I wish! No really, these pictures make me reflect on the sweet, loving, "perfect" children that I have. Like my mom tells me, "you have to love them just as they are." I do love being a mother, and I do love my children to the depths of my heart, there's just been some extreme lows the past month (me breaking down and screaming at Geddy and stripping his room of EVERYTHING after he hit me, kicked me, head banged me, and spit in my face), but I am feeling confident again and feeling like there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Watch out Big Brother

Jennsen is not a mild mannered, soft spoken lady. Quite on the contrary - she is feisty, loud, even mean at times. She already gets angry at Geddy when he's doing the slightest thing to bother her, and slaps me in the face when she's not happy - no kidding!!! One of her favorite, playful pastimes, is to "attack" Geddy. Take a look for yourself. He likes it a lot. I would hate to see what she will do when she's TWO years old and really mad! Watch out everyone.

Big Girl, Big Ideas

Jennsen is quite the big girl, with some big ideas.

My own personal dishwasher

Who needs an electrically operated dishwasher when you have a three year old?

Going Green

This is how we are going green around these parts . . .
All thanks to a special little leaf known as SPINACH.

Green Omelets
I love this picture, check out his face:
"Ah, green omelets, such sweet ecstasy."
This is 2 eggs and about a cup of finely chopped spinach.
Would he ever eat 2 whole eggs and a cup of spinach any other way??
No way!

Dinosaur Mac N Cheese
I recommend using Annie's Aged Cheddar boxed mac n' cheese.
(Pictured is my own sharp cheddar cheese sauce).

Arroz Verde (translation: green rice).
This delicious number is made with a
cup of spinach and a bundle of deliciousness, I mean cilantro.
So much flavor - way tastier than plain rice.

Good Bye 348 North 100 East

It must be a miracle! Brennan finally closed, just TODAY, on his mom's house in Farmington. I was so happy for the Veaters (the buyers) and Marcia that this deal finally closed. I paid a visit to the Farmington home to say my farewells, take video footage, and reminisce a bit about the past 14 years! The kitchen brings back memories of too many family and friend dinners to count. Dinners with Terry, Marcia, and me (the three stooges) while Brennan was on his mission, dinners with the widow ladies, dinners once Terry passed and dinners once Geddy came along.

The upstairs (HUGE) loft like bedroom reminds me of Brennan, of course! It was his bedroom before and after his mission. We watched many a movie and snuggled in his lazyboy, which was sitting in the middle of the room right smack in front of the TV. It's also where he proposed to me and we said our first couple's prayer together, which was incredibly hard for me because I didn't grow up saying "intimate" family prayers.

Of course, there's the basement (which is currently occupied by a renter). This is where this family "begun." Brennan's awesome parents basically finished it so we could have the coolest place ever to live! I lived there all by myself a few months before we were married. It was great. Then Brennan and I lived there for the first year and half of our marriage.

We also held our wedding open house at this home. We are not formal people, and sometimes we are untraditional as well. We didn't like the idea of being at a reception all night, so we had a casual, fun, open house the night before we were married. It was cool to spend time with people at our home and show them our new place!

This is the basement with the renter's stuff in it. We didn't even have a digital camera back then, so I don't have digital pictures of it.

The spectacle of it all - the yard!

Terry's pride and joy! What you see is a fence lined with grape vines (more grape vines line the driveway as well). Man, those grapes make good homemade grape juice. Beyond the vines are about 8 fruits trees -apples, asian pear, bartlett pears, peachs, plums (further down by the pioneer house). Yes, there's a quaint pioneer house at the front of the property - which consequently is now a different lot and for sale! Anyway, beyond the fruit trees was a huge garden plot, where Terry grew the most amazing garden. I wish he was still here to teach me a few pointers about how to grow tomatoes without cracks and zucchini without squash bugs. But I suspect he would say it was mostly the rich fertile soil!!! My garden envies that soil!

This home has been good to the Smoot family. It was a place where lots of love and memories still abide. I wish I could have afforded to buy it. I know some of the other kids probably wish they could have too! Through living there and in Farmington we have definitely developed a deep love for Farmington. It's a great place to live and raise a family. When we eventually move, I hope it's not too far. Maybe if we are lucky we won't ever leave our little Farmington.

Good night Farmington home. Rest well with your new owners, the Veaters, who will love you just as much as we did!