A wild hair, a paint sale, and a Monday off of school

When we got home from our Idaho trip in September, I wanted to repaint my living room wall.  It was brown and I was feeling really blah about it.  Se we spent three days sorting through paint colors from three stores before we settled on "Kelly's Island" or basically teal.  I love teal, it is actually my favorite color.  It was a fun change and I enjoyed it for a while, but it just didn't go very well with our living room decorations.  The wheels in my head had been turning for a while thinking about what color I would like to change it to.  

The week we got back from Idaho for Christmas we had the missionaries over.  The wall came up and I mentioned I was thinking about repainting.  Chant was kind of surprised because he thought I liked it.  Later in the week he said if I wanted to paint I had better do it now because Home Depot was having a paint sale plus an added mail-in rebate.  Sweet!  I had my chance.  Last Saturday we went to Home Depot and Chant and the kids wandered the store while I spent some time considering all my choices.  I came home with a huge stack of paint colors.  The options ranged from blues to greens to yellows with one random card of oranges.  After the kids were tucked snug as bugs in their beds I got to work looking at each color and whittling down the pile.  I got it narrowed down to my two favorite blues, two greens, and the yellows I hadn't narrowed down at all.  We immediately decided we really didn't want blue.  We chose our fav green and then we went to the yellow pile (where the random orange card was included).  The very first thing Chant saw was the orange card.  He pulled it out and we looked at it and both of us got really excited and it was done.  Orange it was, or more correctly Miami Spice.

Monday Chant didn't have school so that was paint day.  He set his alarm for 5:00 a.m. and he was out the door and back home before 6:30.  The room had been primed and two coats of paint added all before lunch.

We ran errands in the afternoon and let the paint dry more before moving the furniture back.  When we decided it was dry enough to move things back I discovered Chant's real motive for so willingly letting me paint.  He wanted to change the furniture around.  For those of you who don't know me super well, I am not a fan of change when it comes to where my things are at.  I could change the color of my wall no prob, but move the furniture!  Oh the stress!  He knew I would freak out, so he approached the subject very gingerly and I caved.  And guess what.  I love it.

New year new living room.  We even bought 5 little fake foam birds (hope you know what I am talking about) to spread throughout our living room to add extra pops of color.  I think it looks great.   

Can I keep just this one?

So this morning I was putting lotion on my extremely dry feet.  I have this really large, cool looking scar on my ankle.  On my one year birthday I was hospitalized for a blood disease that attacked my ankle.  My mom said my ankle was swollen up like a balloon.  They had to cut it open to drain it.  That left a crazy looking scar on my ankle.  Call me weird, but I like it.  It is a part of me and always has been.  I feel that way about all of my scars.  I have tiny little scars on my hand where I was cut by a broken water carafe while I was waiting tables.  I have a big scar on my back where my brother popped one of my chicken pox when I was just 3 months old.  I have a pretty cool indentation on my stomach from my seat belt when I rolled my parents' car.  I have a caterpillar looking one on my side where a mole was removed.  I even have one on the tip of my tongue from when I had a pie shaped piece surgically removed and the two flaps were sown together.  

So back to this morning.  While I was putting lotion on my feet, I saw this scar on my ankle and I got a little sad thinking about the resurrection and how our bodies would be made perfect from imperfections, like scars.  I am really excited to have a perfect body free from physical ailments and imperfections but I wonder, can I keep just this one?

Out of the mouth of a babe

Today was kind of a rough day for me.  Porter is teething and he has a cold, again.  He was up from 2-5 this morning crying.  Then the girls were awake and ready to go at 6:30.  So I was a little groggy today.  Later in the day I was kind of melting down due to lack of sleep.  Ainsley came up to me and said, "Mom, what's wrong?"  I told her I was tired because Porter was up last night crying.  She then asked me "Why didn't you sleep before Porter cried?"  Huh, why didn't I think of that?

At dinner Brinnley hit her finger and she started crying that she needed a band-aid to feel better.  She went off crying down the hall to the closet where we keep the band-aids.  All the while Ainsley was calmly eating dinner.  Chant turned to Ainsley after Brinnley ran out of the kitchen and asked, "What happened to her?"  Ainsley looked up from her plate and said very matter of fact, "She hurt her finger and needs a band-aid."  Then she was back to focusing on her dinner.  This was so funny because she didn't skip a beat even though she was in her own little world.

After dinner we made cookies in a skillet, called Skookies.  The girls helped squish the dough into the skillets.  Chant asked Ainsley how they looked.  She very seriously said, "Incredible."  We couldn't stop laughing.  

She definitely helped lighten the mood today.  Thanks baby girl.

Hands

I have old woman hands.  I do!  The top of my hand looks like a normal hand, maybe a little dry but other than that normal.  But when I turn my hands to look at my palms, my hands are deeply lined.  I have tons of lines that cover the fleshy part just below my thumb (sorry, anatomy is NOT my subject).  My fingers are even covered with lines.  Some are deep and others  are not, but either way, there are a ton.  My mom has always commented on them.  Don't get me wrong, she wasn't being mean or anything.  My hands are just very different than hers.  Hers are very smooth with very few lines.  Chant's hands are also very smooth and the girls took after their Daddy.  

Today I was feeding Porter his bottle when he reached his cute, chubby, little hand up to my face.  I held his little, precious hand in mine and I examined it.  I searched every little part of it, fingers and all.  My heart was filled with a warmth when I discovered that Porter has my hands.  He has old man hands, and I love it!  His cute fingers are lined just like mine.  His palm has lines going every which way.  I have always been fond of my lined hands and so I am glad that I get to share them with one of my children.  

But the girls have a unique part of me too.  I have two distinct lines/ bumps (similar to the lines above the upper lip) below my lower lip.  The girls have both been given this feature.  I like that we are different and each have a look entirely our own, but as a parent it is fun to see some of my unique features in them.  My children really are a part of me, and I LOVE it!

Porter's First Haircut

While we were in Idaho Porter's hair grew quite a bit, but only on the top.  He was looking a little funny so Chant thought it was time for a buzz.  We got out the clippers.  He didn't cry, but he looked a little disgruntled the whole time.  He still has hair, but it looks much better!  Thanks Dad for keeping me from looking like a dork!

Winter in Idaho

Visiting with the Grandpas on our way home.

We stayed the night at Opa's house in Utah.

Grandpa Gene and Aunt Dee

Jenny and Porter (she is my Aunt)

Ainsley and Dalton (her fav)

Porter and McKenzie

Easton and Ainsley

 

Ainsley and Uncle Kirk making popcorn (Kirk got the air popper for his gift) 

Everyone got gloves from Grandma.

Grandpa got a rope, but Ainlsey claimed it for her own.  She used it for things like tying up her Uncle Kirk.

We all had a part on the Family Christmas program.  The kids sang Rudolph and Cousin Lily did a dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.

Grandpa played Battleship with the girls (or put the pegs in to make pretty designs is more like it)

Porter and Uncle Kasey

Brinnley got really sick with a nasty ear infection while we were in Idaho.  She was sick on the couch for a few days before the meds kicked in.

But before she got sick she had fun playing in the snow with her sister.  Ainsley didn't like the sled at all, but she loved building her snowman and doing her own thing.

Christmas in Denver

Ainsley and Chant put on a pretty good concert for everyone

Brinnley got the Barbie she wanted (6 to be exact)

Porter had fun opening his presents, with a little help.

The famous pink shoes

Porter Boy got the monkey.  (Notice Ainsley isn't looking.)

Ainsley, Kristy, Jenny, and Brinn

Brinn and Gran

Jen and Brinnley

Kris and Ainsley being crazy

Brinn and Kristy

Peace, Joy, and Excitement

We got back to Missouri today.  We have been away from home since December 23.  Pictures of our trip are to come.  It was an amazing vacation.  We got to see all 4 sets of parents, a first for us.  It was just a very fulfilling trip.  But as we got back to our home today, I had this amazing feeling of peace and joy and excited all at once.  It is a new year, a new beginning.  I have such a bright hope for things that are to come and I have an overwhelming love for my Savior.  He gave us the ability to "start over" through repentance and His Atonement.  So I have been thinking about all the things I want to do this new year and everything I want to accomplish and here is my thought.  I don't want to let myself get discouraged when I fall short, which I undoubtedly will.  So this is my mantra for the new year, "Try a little harder to be a little better."  (Quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley).  I think if every day I just try to do better than I did the day before then I will be making progress.  Of course I have grand plans and I am going to try my hardest to make them happen, but always I will try a little harder to be a little better.  Good luck to all of you on your goals for the new year and may you be filled with peace about the past, joy for the present, and excitement for the future.