family pics 2012

 I love them. Here are a few...

I love the lighting.

 This was such a fun shoot. I feel like I have been a little stressed and uptight in past pics so I don't know why I was so relaxed this time but it was much better.

 Andersen was happy to pose. He is such a sweet boy.

 Hen was the king of the goofy smile at this shoot.
I am glad we got one that was just a sweet smile, although I really do love the goofy-Hen smile too.

 I love his chicken fluff. He got his hair cut right after this.

 I love that Dan and I have a few pictures together. I think the last one was at our wedding.

 

It was a fun shoot. Thanks Mary ! I will add more later...

the boys are starting school

Look how handsome and big they are...

Andersen loves to ride the bus.

This is bittersweet. I am sad that the boys aren't home all day but they love school. Andersen started kindergarten, all-day kindergarten. I was so worried, but he is loving it. I picked him up from the bus the other day and asked how is day was.He said it was "GREAT". I asked which part and he said all of it. I am glad I waited til this year to send him though. I think he is more confident and I love the domino effect of it all too. Hen will only be 2 years behind him is the biggest plus.

Henry doesn't go to school until after lunch but he likes to get ready with Andersen.

Henry loves his school too. He likes to call it his school now (it used to be Ander's). His teacher says he is very observant and even helps the other kids "share". I am not sure what this means...ha ha. Maybe a little Robin Hood going on, you know steal from the rich and give to the poor.

 Hen is a very tender boy.

mY sWeEt BoYs

This picture really tells a lot. My happy and obedient Andersen. Hen is caring and makes me laugh. Noah is calm and content. I LOVE these little guys. They are all perfect in their individual ways. I feel so blessed that they are here on this earth with me. Dan and I thank our Heavenly Father everyday for these sweet and active boys. Sometimes I go deep in thought and things make perfect sense but it could just really be a lack of sleep. I was thinking the other day how my babies are going to be men. Imagine 3 grown men lying head to head (to head). Why does that make me want to be a better mother? This time is so short when they are small. I want to soak them up and build up their armor for the future. I want them to know that I love them and that I will ALWAYS love them. I want to teach them that their Heavenly Father loves them and wants them to be happy and wants to help them become the strong men that they are meant to become. Sometimes it helps me prioritize to just take a step back from the laundry, dishes, chocolate handprints, squealing, and all the other things that make my days seem overwhelming and just hug my babies and look into their bright eyes and see their potential future and then do what I can to help them get there. I know kinda deep/random. It is 1am and I'm talking crazy ;)

In case you were wondering what happened to us...

we've just been snuggling Noah.we love him to pieces.

announcement by: CheekyCards

The last few weeks...

This is probably the only preggo pic you'll get. I don't know if I've told you yet but I am expecting another little boy in August! I told the facebook world but forgot that some people in my blog world are not "fbers". Everything is going well. I am over the morning sickness phase and on to the "growing at an incredible rate" phase.We think we'll stick with the name Noah, that Andersen picked out years ago, but are open if you have any suggestions.
Little Hen waiting for daddy to get home.
What a sweet boy.He was happy until we brought out the buzzer...
After. Cute smile bud, but a little fake. He wasn't happy about getting a haircut but he was a trooper.
Last week I think I used about 4 pints of heavy cream! This could be part of the reason I gained 5 lbs last week. We had fettuccine alfredo and strawberry shortcake (which should be called strawberry tallcake the way I load it on). Oh and then strawberry short/tallcake again. The strawberries from Costco were SO yummy for Easter.

RECIPE

2 pints strawberries sliced and sugared left out at room temp. for about an hour

1/3 cup shortening
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Heat oven to 450. Cut shortening into flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl using a pastry blender or 2 butter knives (I usually end up using my hands) until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended.

Then I use a spoon and just drop 6 blobs of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet and back for 10-12 minutes. You can cool them or eat them warm. I cut them hamburger style and load on layers of whipped cream and strawberries. MMMmmm. Oh peaches are actually my favorite for this recipe. I can't wait until they are in season.
ENJOY!

shall I make cinnamon rolls for lunch?

hmmm, don't mind if I do.

I have never made cinnamon rolls before. I saw a recipe on ourbestbites.com this morning and decided to give it a try. I started about 10:30 and they came out of the oven at 12:30. I thought they would take longer to rise and all that. They were really simple and really yummy!
I was going to take pictures of each step but I forgot a few... the dough was easy. Then you roll it out and spread on the yummy goodness.

Then you roll it up and cut it (with dental floss) and put them in a pan to rise for 30 min.

Then you bake them until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Then you frost them and enjoy! There is nothing better than a warm fresh cinnamon roll.

First time cinnamon roll making = yummy success :)

maple syrup and dreams of warmer weather...

Here is Andersen enjoying his fresh maple syrup breakfast! It really was delicious!
Here are the trees the yummy syrup came from.

Yeah that is a tiny horse pulling some kids down the road. Awesome!!


But this is what I really want..... WARM WEATHER!!!!!

Then I would go to Kirtland...
And Chagrin Falls...

It's going to happen for me. I just know it is...