Ten on tuesday

1. Chris started his internship with the US attorney's office on Monday. We are so happy that he got something here so we can stay together as a family.

2. Annmarie had a Mom's and Dad's day on Friday. Her school does this instead of a graduation (so happy about that). She had a great time showing us everything in her folder and her playground.

 3. Jeffrey and Annmarie played in their last soccer games of the season. It was a great day and we are happy that in 2 weeks will have our Saturday's to ourselves again

Henry enjoying the time without the others :)

4. Friday night was Fathers and sons. Will came back with lots of Chuck Norris jokes. other than that they all had a great time and very little sleep :)

5. Annmarie, Lindsay, Henry and I got to go out to eat friday while the boys were out playing. I think next year when it will really only be the girls Annmarie will really be excited for an all girls night!

6. Lindsay bought silly string and had a great time getting our kids!

7. Chris and I went and saw a moive in the theater! This alone is huge news. We saw The Three Stooges. it was a funny and very clean movie. One of the best parts for me was seeing Kirby (think singles ward etc) in a "real" movie.

8. We have discovered that Henry is acting just like Jeffrey when he was this age. He is starving all the time. lucky we knew what to look for this time and our happy baby is still here.

9. our newest family addiction is F'real's. oh they are soooooo good. I can see us going to QT way to many times this summer for these.

10. Yesterday as I was cutting Jed's hair. He said only cut the top. So I started that way. When the top was done Jeffrey said "you look like grandpa Sherwood" it was way cute.

Ten on Tuesday oops I mean Wednesday

Things have flown by, plus Chris is home so I really like doing stuff with him so we are a day late.


1. Chris got an A- in his most disliked class of the whole entire 2 years. So proud of him (for those who don't know all grades are on a curve so anything above really a B is awesome)

2. Today Henry went swimming for the first time ever. Lindsay was great with him and he loved every second of it.

3. Henry also at rice cereal today. He has been way crabby which I thought was a teeth issue (he will be getting number 1 any time now) but yesterday he ate tons. like an 8 oz bottle then 2 hours later 12 more ounces. So today we moved on the the cereal and he seemed to like it.

4. Saturday night we played wiffle ball as a family. It was so much fun Lindsay sent some photos but I am so tired now and do not have the patience to add them

5. We registered for the Great River Ragnar. it is Aug 17-18. I think we have about 7 90% people so I am so excited to get running (because I only run when I have a reason to).

6. Mothers day was great. Chris made a great breakfast and great dinner. Sure love him and all that he does for me.

7. Chris and the kids have started a new game. The toss a ball on the roof and who ever catches it or gets it first gets points. The kids love it. It is a great way to get them to work on their

8. Lindsay and I are attending our mandatory CPR/First aid training. It has been a while but very little has changed.

9. Last night Jeffrey's team played Annmarie's team for practice. It was so much fun. Annmarie has truly improved. Jeffrey is all Sherwood and has no desire to go beyond midfield. I do what I can to encourage the Defense in the family :)

10. Lindsay has been wonderful!!! Chris and I get to go on weekly dates now and she is a great helper at home to. Love having her here.

Mothers day

I stole this from Jill (THANKS!!!!!)

Here are photos with each of my kids

Ten on Tuesday

 1. Chris took his last final of the semester on Thursday afternoon!!!!

(read bottom to top)

he has comletted 2 years of Law school and we could not be more proud of him. Love you Chris!!!

2. This was Annmarie's drawing for Chris. She added her and Chris later but I only have that photo on my phone and don't know how to get it off. it says "We Love you Dad Annmarie."

3. Jeffrey decided that he wanted his hair cut. He started it himself. . . needless to say summer hair cuts are on the way.

4. Here is Chris when he got home from his final.

5. Jed's bike with training wheels kept having issues so Chris decided to help him learn to ride without. Needless to say. . . it was not a happy experience. Jed literally screamed and cried the entire time. When Chris would push his bike into the grass and the he could coast until the bike stopped. He did this without falling off but he refused to pedal. Finally after the bribe of sitting on My lap he pedaled. then he did it again for some sprite. We are in for a long road ahead with his stubbornness
.

6. This is Chris this morning after he emailed in his 28 page paper. It was the last thing he had to do before this semester was officially over. He is soooo happy

7. I am officially an employee of the YMCA now. I will be teaching a Heat class (like I said last week) and I will also be teaching a summer Kids fit class. I am really excited for this opportunity. Not because I will be making lots of money (because I won't) but because I will be teaching things that I love. Cannot wait!

8. Saturday night we played Kickball with a bunch of other families. It was so much fun. The kids had a blast and so did the adults.

9. Henry has passed a major milestone. . . He is now in 3-6 month clothing. I know not so major but he really is putting on weight. I love to see his chunky face :)

10.  We have been watching the NHL playoff's and guess what I really like watching hockey. Chris also forgot how much he loves it too. Love watching great sports!

random thoughts

Editors note - This is a rambling of my thoughts. I am happy with my life, but as we all do we all have difficult things that go on in our lives and we all work through them differently. As this blog is a journal of sorts I felt that it was a safe place to ramble.










As I sit at home tonight with kids in bed and a hubby at scouts. I have lots of things running through my head. so hear is a post of the inner works of my thoughts (not a complex as you really think).




My niece Tanna posted this on Facebook

"After a day full of disappointments, it's nice to look back and realize how many tender mercies were hidden throughout the day. :)"




how this made me take a step back and think about my day. The last hour or so before my kids went to bed was not the best. (which is always the case) and there were other bumps through out the day. But if I really look at my day it has over all been a great day. Chris was home studying all day. So I go to see him lots. I got to exercise. I have had 2 jobs offered to me in the last 2 days (both at the Y). I got to run and swim with a friend today and catch up with her life. I am realizing how many friends/acquaintances I have here. I have the help of another great niece (wonderful, not like my niece's niece) Lindsay. Chris has his last final tomorrow. year 2 will be over and only 1 more to go! He will get hopefully at least a week off before he has been offered an amazing internship here not in AZ!







another post today from Facebook




This isn't Lori. This is JD. I am out of town. But i am really missing my wife and kids. I can't wait to see them again. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

I love you guys.




makes you realize a few things. I am so lucky that Chris is around and doesn't have to travel. Hopefully this will stay this way. Also makes me wish Chris would do this sometime. But even if he doesn't I still know that he loves me! and loves our crazy kids who want to make me pull my hair out and I want to hug and cuddle with them because they are growing up way way too fast! It also makes me thankful for examples like this man and his wife who really do love each other and are not afraid to show it.




I am so blessed and often times (the last week or so especially) I struggle to recognize it. Why must I do this way to often. My other blog was supposed to help me see the positives in my day. Which most days it does. I cannot pin point why I have struggled the last week or so. Maybe the fact that Chris's semester is almost over and I feel a break coming on. Maybe I see to many of my own weaknesses and am struggling to overcome them. Maybe because I just don't know. I often see women who seem to have it all put together and wonder what they are struggling with (not in a bad way but I know we all struggle even the ones who look like they don't).




I guess what I am thinking/getting at is how often do I really pay attention to those moments that really make a difference? how often do I as a mother take the easy path with dinner or entertaining my kids just so I can be lazy. Hopefully I can be better at recognizing those positive moments throughout my day and focus on those and not the ones that will eventually make my hair turn gray.




Most of all I guess I wonder how people ever make it through this world without a knowledge of a Heavenly Father and Mother who love us so much. An elder brother, Jesus Christ, who suffer for our sins and our sorrows. How when we die we will get to be with our loved ones again. I am so thankful for this knowledge. I am so thankful for a Prophet today and those that sever with him and other great teachers and leaders. Any time I feel down I know I can turn to a talk from one of our general Authorities and feel uplifted. I love President Uchtdorf, to me he is the eternal optimist. I love his outlook on life and hope that someday I can be there too! I love this gospel and the fact that I have been blessed my whole entire life to have it. To have the spirit with me each day. To know right from wrong. How people can go through life without these eternal truths makes me realize why there are so many unhappy people. And why so many people have so much "stuff" to try and help fill a void that can only be filled with the knowledge that I am a child of God!

ten on Tuesday

 1. Henry has decided that he really enjoys the exer-saucer. all of our kids have loved this even when they cannot touch the floor with their feet. Glad Henry is no different.

2. Jeffrey and Jed learned about explosions in science class. So for family home evening we got so diet coke (which works best because of the aspertaim sp) and mint mentos and had our own science experiment

first the small bottles

then the 1.5 liter.

then the 2 liter

 it was a blast

3. Trying to be good citizens we washed down the street full of diet coke. Then the kids had to get wet. It was too cold for my liking but do kids really ever care?

4. Henry was 3 months on Wednesday. I weigh him at the YMCA their super accurate scale said 13 1/2 lbs. He is growing and he is so happy! Love this boy.

5. Soccer games were canceled on Saturday because of this big storm. . . that never hit. They canceled them Friday night. I cannot say I was too sad that they canceled them. It was nice to have a break from cold wet Saturday mornings

6. Thursday was Chris's last day of classes for this semester. He is happy to be done with classes. Test #1 he took yesterday. We had a BBQ with our law school neighbors and some other friends from school. It was so much fun.

7. I finally have a reason to run. We are planning on running the Great river Ragnar on aug 17-18. We are still looking for runners so if you are free and want to join us let me know!

8. Yesterday I was offered a fitness instructor position (teaching class) at my Y. I am excited and nervous. Hopefully I can do as good of a job as the previous one. Not sure when I will start.

9. Saturday Chris and I went on a date with Will and Annmarie. It was fun to see them in a setting that has no younger siblings. Hope to be able to do this more often.

10. Jeffrey has been such a sweet boy lately. He is so willing to help me out whenever I need it. He is in a stage where he loves to hold Henry and usually this happens as he helps me out. Love this little boy and his love for his brother and me.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Lindsay is here. Although she has added a number to our family I almost feel like she has decreased our numbers. She loves to hold Henry. Hope she likes being here as much as we love having her.

2. We showed the kids the movie Miracle. They loved it, plus it made me wish the Olympics are here today and we had cable.

3. Henry is 3 months tomorrow. He is still is 0-3 m clothes but here is proof he has actaully gown. I love him. He is the best baby ever!

4. Chris and I went to a "school" function. We had a good time being together. And we even met a retired MLB pitcher. Had a great time listening to Chris and him talk.

5. I roped a steer tonight. well it was plastic and stationary, and I only got one of his horns but I did it. (our neighbor practices roping a few nights a week. I finally tried it. Chris has done it before)

6. we had 3 hours of soccer again on Saturday. it was cold and wet. Hopefully we will have 1 dry game this season (this Saturday does not look like it will be the dry one).

7. So Chris and I have been doing Insanity (a home DVD workout) I didn't get a chance to do it this morning so I sent the kids to bed and did my DVD. a little bit into it Jeffrey comes down, then Jed then Annmarie. Needless to say they did some with me cheered me on and said stuff like here's your water mom, I'm exercising to be healthy, they gave you more time mom! There is lots more blue left (exercise time). Loved having my kids there

8. I love where we live. love our neighbors, the schools, the weather. Love this place

9.  Chris took his first final yesterday.  The professor said he did not fail.  She didn't say what grade he got.  Its good to get the first one out of the way.

10.  Chris got hired by the US Attorney's Office here in Des Moines for the summer.  Hopefully he passes the 25 page background. 

Ten on Tuesday

1. Kansas City Temple - It was a good experience, Best memory is watching all the kids (minus Henry) walk up the stairs. Jed was holding Chris's hand. Made me so happy. Hoping that someday it will happen again.

2. Liberty Jail - Will had been talking about going here since seeing the flyer Rob brought home from when they went to the Open house. I think Will enjoyed it, Chris did too. I didn't get to see a whole lot but we will be going back to KC in the future and we can redo the jail.

3. Adam-ondi-Ahman - I loved this place. there was just this special spirit there. Hope to go back when there is more time.

4. Soccer, if was our first week of 3 hours of soccer games. Hopefully it goes a little better in the future. We got photos. Jeffrey's game was last and he was so tired from running around for 2 hours before that his energy was a little lacking.

 

5. I have realized that I really enjoy teaching Gospel Doctrine. Not that I think I am a good teaching, but I love how much I am learning.

6. Final studying has begun. I wish I had Chris's ethic when I was in school. I would have gotten much better grades. 3 or so weeks and year 2 will be in the books!!!! So proud of my awesome husband.

7. I went and played volleyball with some neighbors this past week. It was fun and boy was I sore from using muscles I don't use often, if ever.

8. Chris rented Smurfs. The kids loved it. It was so great to hear the laughter. Not sure who laughed harder Chris or the kids

9. Found out Lindsay is coming soon, can't wait to have her here.

10. Annmarie got a hold of the camera, this is what we got :)