John Janzen

 Today the littles and I ventured out in the cold to hang out with some old friends! Most of these kiddos were born very close together, and haven't seen each other for quite some time since we've all moved to different areas of the city.We used to get together once a week at a park when the kids were small. It was funny seeing them together. It took them a while to remember each other and start playing together.

 The older two took off as soon as we entered the play area, so I stuck with little Joe. He had fun walking on this fun floor! 

 

He was also obsessed with this slide. 

 I managed to sit them all together on a bench for a whole ten seconds, so this is the best we could do. Joseph was distracted by someone walking by, Hyrum is hamming it up, and Miss CJ is just such a big girl...

 I really wanted to gather all of the kiddies together and grab a picture for a then and now comparison, but with over ten of them under five, it was a little hard to get them all together. I did manage to catch Camilla and Kennedy together though!

I mostly hung around with Joseph and chatted with the other Mamma's. It was a crazy fun afternoon! We tried to buddy Hyrum up with one of the other boys there. It worked for a bit, but then he missed his sister too much. I guess I need to let these two be apart a little bit more! It started out with, "He's my best fwend, we're havin' fun Mudder!" and then changed to, "I don't love him, I love my Camilla instead..." I love that they play so well together and really truly are like best friends. I look forward to getting all of us together again soon!

Tuckered Out

Looks like this cutie could have used his morning nap after all!

He couldn't even make it through lunch!

Monday's Musings

Here we are at the start of another week once again. Time sure ticks by when your days are full and busy! The children all seem to be growing and changing so much each day that I can hardly keep up with them. I chatted with my Mum on the phone today and she wisely said, "They grow fast". I've been thinking about that statement a lot today, and how true it is. I spent the better part of my morning clicking through old pictures of the children and letting them hear themselves on video. Camilla was amused by her little voice when she was first learning how to talk. Hyrum laughed at the one of him playing "ha-ee" with a wooden spoon at our old house. They both told me how much they missed our old floral couches and their shared bedroom. Their memories amaze me! My memory however isn't so good. Often the kids will say something funny or do something memorable and when I sit down to write about it at days end, I've forgotten! I always try to take note of things the moment they happen so I can write them in more detail later. Time just goes so quickly and I sure want to hang onto these moments after my children are grown.

Last night Camilla asked me to lay with her for a few minutes before bed. Almost every night I snuggle with her and scratch her back, arms and sometimes legs while she rattles off her days events to me. This time she snuggled her little body in close, positioning her head just below my chin and resting it near my chest. I pulled her in close and ran my fingers through her long damp hair. Her breathing soon became very heavy and her arm twitched letting me know she was asleep. The curtains were pulled open still and the orange streetlights filled the room with a special glow. I wanted to lay there forever with her sweet body nestled into mine. I thought about when she was a baby and remembered special moments we shared. I thought about when her body was small enough that she could sleep on my chest with her legs curled up on my stomach. Tears were shed in our snuggle and more tears come as I write this. Memories from the last four years flooded my memory. But those memories were a little foggy, and suddenly I wished I was better at keeping a journal when she was a baby (or that I had started this blog when she was first born). When I look back on pictures, the details of the moment seem distant, and I can't help but think, "They grow so fast!"

Camilla is such a great girl! The other day when we were driving she was telling me how awesome it was that Santa knew exactly what she wanted and how he "sees everything from the South Pole!" I smiled and listened. Tonight when I tucked her in, she told me all about her day. Then she said, "I'm SO excited for tomorrow because the day after that we get to go see our friends!" The enthusiasm in her voice was so contagious and left me wishing I could capture some of her energy and zest for myself. She will often wake up and tell me, "Today is a special day Mommy because..." and tell me a simple reason why it's special. If only we could all have that same outlook on life each night before bed and each morning when we wake. She teaches me so much this girl of mine.

And while I'm updating, here's a bit on Mr. H. His vocabulary is huge, and it's no wonder with the way his big sister teaches him. He always asks to say the dinner prayer and then gets Camilla to help him. One time this week, in a classic repeat after me prayer, Camilla said "Please bless we will get a new baby, and that it will be a GIRL" and Hyrum repeated, "Please bless a new baby, and that it will be a BOY!". Mike and I cracked up. He is doing awesome in his new undies and staying dry all day. We're still working on the other side of things. Often after I've made him sit on the potty for a few minutes he will tell me, "I'm full of sitting on the potty". He uses this line for other things too. "I'm full of..." whatever we're doing.

Joseph is absolutely hilarious lately and has perhaps changed the most of the three! Today I laughed when I was kneeling down to hug Camilla and he plowed in, climbed on my knee, clung onto my shirt and pasted himself to the front of me. I gave him a hug and he let out a big content sigh and remained snuggled for a few minutes. It seems whenever I try to give affection to anyone else, he will always make his way in there for a bit o' lovin'. He now folds his hands at night prayers and gives us all big hugs before bed. It's crazy how much he understands, and how obedient he is. He likes to walk around scheming with his tongue stuck out and pointing up. He has a love for climbing and will frequently hang from the handle of my oven as he tries to make his way up. He also tries to pull himself onto the counter using the dishwasher and can almost get on the couch all by himself. I dread the day when he's able to climb and jump on the couch with the older kids. They are getting better at watching him and keeping him safe though. Camilla always stands behind him when he goes downstairs to help him. He has developed a fear of the top of the stairs and will always turn around a good couple of feet before the stairs begin and scoot himself backwards. He takes the stairs on his tummy like they are a slide at the park and giggles the whole way down. I love him and the joy he brings to our little family!

Looking Out

I love hanging out with this boy.

We spent a few minutes this morning watching Daddy shovel snow. 

Joe is constantly trying to climb or pull himself up on something.

He is a very busy boy!

Warming Up

I love how in the freezing cold of Winter, the suns rays still feel warm on your face. The other day Joseph and I soaked up some rays. I snapped a picture of him smiling, but caught a sneeze instead! The littles are all anxiously awaiting Summer and all that comes with it!

Good Things to Come

Tonight we had the privilege of feeding the missionaries. The littles provided much of the evening entertainment with Hyrum smooching Camilla and them laughing and giggling up a storm. Sometimes I wish I could record our dinner conversations because they always get me laughing! After dinner each child politely asked to be excused and they made their way downstairs. Before the missionaries left, they shared a message that really hit home for me. It was exactly the message I needed to hear and be reminded of. It gave me both comfort and hope. I cried through the last minute or so of this video, so grab a tissue!

"In that imaginary instant, I couldn’t help calling out to him: “Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.” Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Another Big Kid

I think it's safe to say that Mr. H is officially potty trained.

He now tells me when he needs to go, even though his dance gives it away.

Today was the first day totally accident free.

He's pretty proud of himself.

Though if anyone calls them "underwear" he will quickly tell you they are "undies".

Please tell me I'm not the only one with a toilet paper roll that looks like that?

T-T-Today

 Some little moments from our day today...

 

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Our recent battle with stairs is coming to a close. Rather than non-stop climbing, Joe has decided that he prefers sitting on the first step and observing the happenings in the home. Like the children before him, he does this with one sock on and one sock off.

CA Ball

Today we were privileged to attend Mike's CA Grad. It was a full and busy day that I will document more later. After the Graduation we rushed home to see our littles briefly and change for the evening. I scored my dress very last minute while out shopping with my sister. It's so hard to find something modest and reasonably priced here in the City. This one was the last one on the rack, fit me perfectly, and I paid pretty much half price for it! We also ended up scoring an awesome half tee that fit perfectly under the lacy top. It looks better in real life than it does in the picture. You can't tell, but it has a small number of sequins sewn all over. Then came a speedy up-do with the ten bobbypins I could find and we were set! Mike didn't need to do much, he's pretty handsome already!

The CA Ball was held at the Shaw Conference Center and the decorations were beautiful! I was glad we arrived early and were first at our table. It was nice to look out on the mostly empty room and admire the lights, center pieces and table settings.

I've never really taken pictures of the tables before at these kind of things because I always feel silly doing it infront of other people, but since we were the only ones at our table at the time, I couldn't resist! On the menu for the evening was delicious warm buns with different kinds of whipped butter to start. Next, a Charcuterie plate. For the main course we had Chicken Supreme Coq au Vin and Beef Tenderloin with Mousseline Potato and Seasonal Vegetables. Dessert was either Dark chocolate salted caramel chocolate bar, with espresso ice cream and strawberry gel OR Trio of fruit sorbets coconut cake, rum pineapple salsa and passion fruit beurre blanc. I always like reading what is on the menu and seeing how delicately simple things really are.

Before dinner even began they had a brief introduction and piped in the Grads. I always love the sound of the bag pipes, it makes me want to move to Scotland! I couldn't find Mike in the two lines of Grads because they were coming from different directions, but it was fun to see everyone parade by.

It was great to be out with Mr. Stannix and not be worried about the littles. I love that guy and am so proud of his accomplishments.

After dinner we mingled and explored. We spent a lot of time chatting with his friends that studied with him all summer and work with him at the office.

We only managed one good shot of the two of us the entire evening together. We were too busy talking to everyone. Man, Mr. Stannix is a handsome guy!

The Ball portion wasn't quite what I was expecting (it was more just loud music and lots of club dancing). We ended up leaving shortly before 11:00PM. I was super looking forward to dancing with my handsome man, but there was no spinning or dipping music played. Sometimes I wish I was born 100 years ago where there was formalities and more social dancing. As we left the event, snowflakes were gently falling to the ground. We looked out on the city as we walked to the car and admired the changing lights of the pyramids. On the way home we slid by 7-11 for today's paper to grab a copy of Mr. Stannix's picture in the business section.

On the way home we drove by our old house. The light was on in the kids old bedroom and the same curtains hung in the window. We laughed and reminisced as we drove. Both of us still felt a small bit of sadness and gratitude for that little old house and the memories it holds. We've come so far together, and I'm looking forward to many years ahead!