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.

Summer of fun

So it has been a month or so since I have written anything or posted any new pictures of the family. It has been a very busy summer. I forgot just how much time little babies take and most of my day is spent taking care of little Carter. This summer has been great, with the addition of our new little son and Karalee coming to live with us...our house is very full now:)

We have done a lot of traveling this summer. Carter has already been on two hikes...one about 8 km (@6 miles) 5 weeks after he was born and another one a few weeks later, but not so long. We spent a few different weeks/weekends in Waterton, my favorite place in Canada. It is so beautiful and peaceful and I can just truly relax when I am there with family and friends. Susan, my best friends from San Diego came up with her 3 children for 10 days and enjoyed some of the sights in Calgary and then we all went to Waterton. Everyone just had so much fun.

We also blessed our little baby and it was nice having so many family and friends able to be there to celebrate the blessing of Carter. Everyone knows just how badly we wanted one more little Palmer in our family and it was just such a happy time to be blessing him.

Jared's mom lives on a ranch with horses, cows, and so much land...the boys and especially Michael just love it out there. I always wanted to have little surfer boys, but I think Michael is having a mind of his own and he wants to be a farmer (hence the picture). I think now that we live in Canada on a prairie it might be hard to have a surfer boy:) He loves to feed the horses, help grandpa Mark with all the chores and will stay out side from sun up to sun down.

Some of the other pictures are from a local petting farm that we went to in the beginning of the summer. Just love the ones of my 3 boys with there heads on pig bodies. We are such cruel parents putting our new born baby in that picture, but is was just too cute to pass up. Carter just recently started smiling at us all the time, so I had to include one of those pictures as well!!

I am very sad to see the summer go..other than the fact that I might get a little more rest with both Michael and Logan in school all day and no more traveling each weekend. I love the warm weather and it does not last long in Calgary. The fall weather is already here:(

So, that was our summer in a nut shell. I loved spending time with family and friends and I am very thankful for my 3 little boys and my wonderful husband. Even though having 3 kids is harder than I anticipated, I am grateful to have another son. My mother keeps reminding me that I need to take one day at a time and when I do listen to her great advice, it really does help me be a better wife and mother that day!!

Love to all and hope you all had wonderful summer's as well!!

Dentists in training. (Just what we needed)

(Jared) I had to go to the office to help my dad clean out a room. The boys came with me and entertained themselves. When It was time to go, I went to find them and this is what I found. Both boys had on gloves, they had gotten the demonstration dolls down from the cupboard and they were pretending that they had patients and they were brushing their teeth with huge toothbrushes.