Weather and life

So, we all know that I am obsessed with the weather...I can just say the past few weeks have been very good weeks around the Palmer house!! It has been so nice to take walks and enjoy all that nature has to offer, to take the kids to the park, to teach Logan how to ride on 2 wheels (really did not have to teach him, he just did it), watch the big boys play soccer, listening to Carter laugh each time I swing him higher at the park, to walk with my husband and just talk and be with each other as the boys are with us riding their bikes. There is just something about warm weather, flowers, leaves on trees, birds singing that just makes me feel so alive and good.

It has been a long time since my last post and not much has changed and I can say I am happy about that. Love all my boys and the time I get to spend with them, I am so thankful that I am the mom of Michael, Logan and Carter. This past week I have been thinking about life and how wonderful it begins. Carter is almost 1 year and I am happy and a little sad. He has accomplished so much his first year being here with us and I can't wait for all the other accomplishments yet to come, but at the same time I am sad to see his dependence on me change each day. I love taking care of him, holding him, kissing him, etc...I waited so long for this little man and to think it has already been one year since he came in to our lives is crazy. Some days I find myself just wanting to have more and more babies:)

I have some great pictures of what we have been up to the past few months, but will have to post them later ( I need help from the hubby). But just wanted to let others know and mostly to remind myself of some of the things in life I am most thankful for.

Where has all the time gone??

WOW...it has been a long time since I have updated my blog...hence the title. But the title is not just a reflection on recent time!!

March is always an exciting month for me. First and foremost it is our anniversary month and on March 6th Jared and I just celebrated our 10 yr anniversary....where has the 10 years gone? They were at BYU, in Charleston for Dental School, busy having 3 boys, moving to Canada and starting practices for dentistry. We both have accomplished much together the past 10 years and even though we have been busy, it seems like just a few months ago that we meet, feel in love, and got married...I guess that is when you know you have a good marriage. I am sooooo thankful to have met Jared and married him. He is the best husband and father!! I feel we have both taught each other lots and have meshed together a great life for us and our boys.

Secondly the month of March is also my birth month. I normally like my birthdays, but they are not that fun anymore...I am sorry to admit my vanity, but I hate getting old. I know hate is a strong word, but I really do hate it!!! I will be turning 35 yrs old on March 17th. It is also a time of reflection for what I have accomplished thus far in my life and time that I like to set some goals for what I still would like to accomplish. Again, it seems like yesterday I was just walking the halls of Escondido high school with my best friends and attending dances...but yet is has been almost 20 yrs!! I am thankful for my life and especially for my family and for the church for all they have taught me and all they continue to teach me....here is too another healthy, happy, joyful 35 yrs!!

And lastly regarding time, my little baby is 9 months old and I really want this time to slow way down. I just love my little baby and I cannot believe he has been out in this world for as much time and he grew inside me. I am a little sad at how fast it is going. Carter just learned how to crawl and he is pretty proud of himself. I will have Jared video and post...it is actually pretty funny the way he crawls...I am just glad he finally learned, he was getting pretty frustrated while learning and therefore was very fussy. He is a big boy, he weights 21 lbs (Logan did not weight that until about 2 1/2). He is not overly fat or roley, just really solid. He is still a happy baby and the big boys love to make him laugh and are very sweet with him. Who knows, maybe a miracle will happen and we will be blessed with one more??

All the other boys (daddy, Michael, and Logan) are doing very well. Jared very happy at work and so happy he decided we finally needed to get a boat...so we are now the proud owners of a brand new ski boat...cannot wait for the summer!!! Michael and Logan doing well in school and gymnastics and just registered them in soccer for the spring, they are pretty excited about trying something new.

So...that is were all the time has gone. I know I am bad at updating, but life with 3 boys, church callings, and friends, makes life busy!!

Life spent with those we love

Mom with Carter

Boys on Christmas night

Boys Christmas day

Cousins party

Logan on climbing wall in Denver with Ivy

Michael on the rings

Cute little baby

My 3 sons

Logan's b-day party

Where does the time go...it seems like I just posted an update and it has already almost been a month. I have neglected to send pictures the last few blogs because I am computer challenged and I have to wait for Jared to help me.

I just went to the movie Benjamin Button with a few of my girlfriends and it really made me think about life and how we live it and how we treat the ones we love. I am definitely glad we are born young and that we learn and grow and then get older. For me the movie did put a different perspective on how we spend time with the ones we love and I am so thankful that I have the knowledge that when I die, I will still be connected and have the opportunity to live with them forever!!

I usually try not to set New Year resolutions because for me I am always trying to be better at something, but this year I really want to grow more spiritually and with that I have many things I will be working on. I have been not the most consistent with holding F.H.E., I feel like it is such a struggle with little kids, but I know that even if it only lasts for a few minutes...it is still better than nothing.

Read my scriptures or words from the Prophets at least once a day!

Our ward split for the 4th time since I moved here not even 4 years ago...I know, pretty crazy. I received a calling in the YW and am an advisor and camp director...I am so excited to be working with the youth. I have been praying for a few years now to work with the youth ( I think 12 yrs in primary is long enough for now:)) When I was a young women I only worked to get my personal progress award when I was a beehive and now as a leader I can work on it again and this time finish it. So, this year I will be working along side the YM women to receive mine as well. I hope that I can set a good example and finish this time:) I loved the youth program when I was a youth, I enjoyed camp, youth conference, mutual, dances, etc... Even though I struggled sometimes, I always remembered what I learned as a youth and many of those experiences have helped shaped who I am today. I am just so excited and thankful for the opportunity that I have to serve.

That is enough resolutions for me...as for the rest of the family, all is well. Carter grows every day and I am a little sad he is already 7 months, I have to cherish every day with him as a baby since he is my last. Michael and Logan just busy boys that keep me on my toes. Jared's practice is growing and he just about to buy another practice...like he was not busy enough. We are all healthy, happy, and grateful for all that we have been blessed with.

Tis the season

Wow, I cannot believe it has been a month since I last wrote something. Time really does fly the older you get older and the busier you get. I love Christmas time and have been thinking quite a bit lately of just everything that I am thankful for and how much I have. Christmas time for me is a time to reflect on the past year and hope that I have made changes for the better. I am trying to teach the boys that Christmas time is not about getting presents. It is about Christ and giving. We had a family home evening about this and Michael is really good about what the true meaning is Christmas is about...Logan on the other hand is all about the toys and what he wants.

I told the boys that I was going to work at a Women's centre to help people who do not have lots of stuff and told the them that before Christmas they needed to think of some of their favorite toys and things to do and we would go to the store to get them for other people and deliver them as a family to the centre. They both have been very excited about this and the other day asked "mommy when are we going to go give presents to other humans that don't have lots". I just love the stuff that comes from his brain. He considers other people that are not in our family "humans" I am just glad that he has stopped asking for stuff and is not wanting to give stuff to others who are more in need!!

I am so grateful for everything that I have...I love my wonderful husband and my 3 boys, and am thankful that Jared is able to provide for our spiritual and monetary needs as a family. I am grateful that my sister is able to live here in Canada with me...I was lonely without any of my own siblings:) I am grateful for all the wonderful friends I have and for all that they teach me. And most of all I am grateful that Christ was born, was my example, and died for me so that I might return to live with him someday. My wish is that during all the commericalism of Christmas that we all remember the most important part and take time to give as Christ would.

Love you all and have a wonderful Christmas!!

I was tagged

So my wonderful sister in law tagged me and I thought I should answer...it is so nice to be thought of and included in a tag (ha, ha)...now I have to think of 7 random things about me. Might be hard since I am so normal and never random:) Here it goes:

1. I am probably the biggest girl sports fan ever. I love all sports and would watch and play 24/7 if I could.
2. That I met my hubby at a family reunion (not my family)...my best friends family reunion. We loved telling people in the south that is were we meet because many of them do marry their 1st cousins:)
3. I hate arts and crafts and because of that my poor boys suffer. They even just had a assignment at school to decorate a bear with messy stuff from your house. I put it off so long, I forgot about it and they did not get it in on time:( I know bad mom, but I really hate clue, scissors, etc...
4. I love food and almost any type of food. When I was in young women's I only went to the activities were I knew there was going to be a good dessert...how pathetic!
5. I stay up way to late each night...it is my me time and I eek out every last second without my 3 wonderful boys (4 if you include my wonderful hubby), needing something from me...I always regret it each morning and tell my self I am going to go to be early. Guess it did not work today for I am writing this at 11:30 pm.
6. I am a weather junkie and I check the weather channel on line about 5 times a day (as if it is going to change from the last hour). And to make things worse I look at the weather in San Diego were I grew up and in Charleston where Jared did his dental school and just get sad at how warm everyone else is why I am freezing my butt off here in the frozen tundra. Jared really hates that I am sooo obsessed with the weather and wonders why I kill my self by looking at it all day long. I guess he is right, If I did not know what great weather I was missing, maybe it would not be so bad that I am freezing here in Canada...not very likely thought:)
7. No so random, but most important... I love my family and friends. I hope they all know who they are!! There are many and they are scattered from the west coast to the east coast, they are in Canada, and right here in my house. Family and friends have taught me many things about who I am and have helped me get through some of the toughest trials and been there for the good times as well. I cherish my role and a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend and they are some of the most important relationships (other than the gospel) that I could not do without.

Now I get to tag other people to answer these questions...so, I will tag people who I know read my blog,

Carla
Kira
Chelsea
Sara
Susan
Mom
Teresa

I will totally understand if you do not respond to your tag...hey I have been tagged more than once and this is the first one I actually completed:)

Busy, busy October

So this month has been crazy. I do not know how life can be so busy with little ones, I thought all that being busy was when they were older, if it gets worse, I do not know if I can survive. Pictures are not necessarily in the correct order...this month Jared and I took the baby and went to Ottawa for a wedding and it was wonderful. Ottawa is so pretty, it really reminded me of being back in South Carolina. There was so many trees, rivers, canals, waterways, etc... We went to 3 museums and I learned a lot of Canadian history. The wedding was held at a maple farm and it was just beautiful, so the picture of the tree with all those pipes and the one of the red building was out at the maple farm. We learned it takes 20 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. Real maple syrup is so yummy:)

A good friend of mine (Chelsea Hansen) came by a took pictures of our little Carter. She is a wonderful photographer and above were some of our favorite pictures. It was so much fun and he was so good. I will send the rest in a few weeks when I have more time (if I get some)!!

Jared's sister also came up for a visit and brought her new little baby. Jared parents now how 5 grandchildren and from the pictures you can see they are all boys. It was so fun to see all the boys together and so that is what the picture of the boys is all about. Carter and baby Austin also took a few baths together, it was so cute to see them pretty much doing the same things...legs bent in, fist in mouth and hands in fists and Jared thought it only proper to blur out their little pee pee's. Austin is just 10 weeks younger than Carter, but only weights about 1 1/2 pounds less. He is so cute and we are excited to have boys so close in age.

Carter has been so hungry the past few days and he is barely going 3 hours between bottles and started to wake up more frequently and earlier than usual, so I am thinking he is hungry and the bottles are just not enough, even thought I have increased how many ounces he gets, so I decided to feed him a little rice cereal. He loved it and smiled and started kicking his legs like crazy (much different then are last baby).

I know most people say you MUST wait until they are six months...but after talking to my Mom about other advice that professionals give...MOMS always knows best. Back in the day when I was little they did not have a set limit of when to start rice cereal, they did not chart our growth, we did not sit in car seats until we were 7, etc..... and me, my siblings and all my friends are healthy adults who are all still alive. So, I feed little Carter some cereal and he slept the entire night through it was great. He is 4 1/2 months and I think he will still live.

Sorry for the ramblings, my posts are not very witty (mainly because I am not a witty person:)), they are not full of great insights, just little updates on my wonderful family and pictures. I hope those that care, enjoy!!

Commercials

So up here in Canada there is a station called Treehouse and it has lots of little kids shows, cartoons, etc...and there are no commercials. We also have Tivo and we never really watch commercials with our shows either and if there ever is one the boys ask to fast forward it.

Logan is obsessed with Transformers, he talks about them all day long and carries his favorite one of the day with him everywhere. He wants to bring it to school everyday. The boys have been getting bored of treehouse and it is a little young for them now, so we have let them watch the family channel.

So, anyways, yesterday I was busy trying to put the baby down for a nap and Logan comes running up the stairs almost in a panic..."mommy, mommy, did you know that Transformers are sold separately". I just laughed. Then, last night we are putting Michael to bed and he asked us the following "mommy and daddy what does batteries not included mean?" We just looked at each other and laughed. We know now why Treehouse is such a good channel..no commercials. We just can't wait for them to start asking us for everything they see in the commercials!!

I sometimes wish to much for the kids to grow up so that my life can be "easy" again, but I just love the things they say at this age and the things that they think.