Had Fun Shopping!

Yesterday, Dan and I went shopping while we left the kids with a friend!  Then we went to the Adult session of Stake Conference.  It was so good to spend some time with Dan.

We have been talking for quite awhile about buying this:

Now we can put away the booster chairs as there is someplace for everyone to sit.  It matches our table really well.

Then we went to DI (a thrift store).  They have brand new mattresses and furniture you can buy for a fraction of the cost (as well as used things).  So we decided to buy a full size bed for Ruth and Irene to share.

Jennilyn is helping Irene up onto her new bed after already helping Ruth up.

Here are the girls on the new bed.  It was fun to watch Dillon help Dan set up the bed, and then to put the bench together.  He is growing up!  We bought the new bedding at Walmart and I like it.  I looked for a bed in a bag for the kids, but they were selling them in individualizes things (ie sheets one price, comforter another price, not all together in one bundle), and I couldn't justify spending $70 on bedding.  I spent only $40 instead.  The girls went to bed with a lot of giggling, but then once the door was shut, they settled down and went to sleep. The girls slept really well last night, and didn't get up until 6:40am!  You have to understand they have been waking up and running to each other's room at 5am, so for them to sleep a little longer was great!

We had to strap the box spring onto the top of the van (thank goodness we keep straps in the van for this very reason) and the mattress slid into the back of the van. (we had left all the car seats at home so we could lay down the seats in the van to slide the mattress in on top of the seats.

So we had a great day, and I am glad for the time spent with Dan, and to see the smile on my kids faces when we brought everything home.  Now we get to see how the girls sleep from here on out.

Slice of Life # 40 ~ Candlelight Dinner

Irene, Dan, Ruth, Jennilyn, Dillon, and Annette (clockwise around the table)

For a Wedding Present we got the candle stick holders and some candles.  So every now and then we set up the table and have a candle light dinner.  Before the kids started coming we had it more frequently to make a night special, now we just do put them out once in a while.  This picture was taken New Years Eve 2009.  I was just about to take a picture when my sister stopped by to drop something off and so I had her take this family picture of all of us.  The kids love when we turn off all the lights and light the candles.  We haven't had a candlelight dinner since this picture was taken so I think it is about time to do it again.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't t...he only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

They are growing!

My kids are growing!

Dillon is getting so heavy, that I  am not able to carry him much.

Jennilyn is getting so active, and is loving to sing.

Ruth is talking more and is wanting to  sleep in her sister's bed.

Irene is also talking more and is wanting to sleep in her brother's bed.  Today Irene told me to let go of the milk jug so she could carry it to the table for me.

The twins are becoming so independent in everything they do.  Dillon is talking more and becoming very opinionated in what he wants.  Jennilyn is a ball of energy.  She loves to learn and sing.

I love my kids.  They are growing and are fun to watch as they learn new things.

Slice of life # 38 ~ Sports

Sports, what sports, other than following BYU football, I don't watch or cheer a team on.  Maybe that will change if Dillon ever gets involved.  Of course Dan isn't into sports much either.  We do enjoy going to a game once in awhile, but we don't follow any on TV or radio, other than looking up the scores online. 

I just told Dan the Packers won the Super Bowl, and he told me he didn't care. :) 

The last time we went to a game was the summer of 2005 when my work gave us tickets for a Buzz baseball game.  I was pregnant with Dillon at the time.  We sat with some of my friends from work and when the game was going on Dillon was kicking and being so active it was quite funny.  We moved away the next month, and we haven't made it to a game since.   Maybe this next summer.

Slice of Life # 37 ~ Emotions

Emotions~ This week was full of them! We had happiness, sadness, angry, stubbornness, loneliness, you name it we had it!

This week Dan was out of town.  It was a long hard week, and I was so glad to get to go pick him up on Friday night!  When we first started having kids he was gone a lot with his job, as it required him to travel, but when he took this job he currently has, that all changed, and it is wonderful to have him home more than gone!  Next month he has to go out of town for a week again, but other then that he is home at nights.  Glad for the change in pace as the kids have gotten older, but it sure gets lonely without him when he has to go out of town.

Love you sweetheart!