nephi the superhero

singing 'nephi's courage' is stover boy's new hobby- at night with every bedtime and during many daytime hours as well. i'd love to share his vigor and vim with you but blogger has taken away the option to post a video. so instead, you'll have to just imagine this cute 3 year old singing about his new favorite superhero.

ps. his thankful headpiece is courtesy of preschool and it showcases his other recent obsessions--- boats and 'fourwheels' (aka the quad he's been hoping santa or some magical birthday messenger will bring for the past 2 years!)

random musings from a hustle bustle mind 2011

you may remember the post with an identical title from last year...motivated by the same busyness, i give you the 2011 installment:

stover girl is breezing through kindergarten but the rest of us are still adjusting to her absence. i.e. with a new pseudo-maturity in tact, how will she get enough nurture? how can the after-school routine be structured to avoid her fatigued grumpiness? how will stover boy occupy his time when mom is busy, stover girl's gone, and it's not computer or tv time? when will the routine of school pickup/ dropoff feel normal rather than like living in the car?

stover dad has new bragging rights after hiking the grand canyon rim to rim in 10 hours.

stover baby is thrilled to be acquiring mobility- scooting, crawling, and pulling herself up on EVERYTHING. (as i'm writing this post, she is pulling on the computer cord anticipating it'll pull her up like a waterski rope.) she is wildly content when within arms reach of mom but left alone to move and explore.

the inner yogini in mom will eventually enable her to do a headstand!

last night, i giggled when the neighbor and i literally passed children over the backyard fence for a playdate at dusk!

priceless

cost of one broken doll stroller= $8.50
the joy of 3 children laughing together= priceless

a word from the wise

'holy cow mom. i look so old in these clothes... like seven!'

a sweatshirt tribute

today, the thermostat looked like this:

so i looked like this:

this sweatshirt has been with me to greet cooler weather for the past 14 years. it has helped me survive 3 pregnancies and post-baby bodies (it's 1997 style fit is quite forgiving); it has accompanied 14 seasons of holiday baking (without a stain i might add); its functionality for bra-less door answering is unmatched (info you didn't want to know but crucial); it has served as thermal layering for a variety of blizzard-like conditions (think breckenridge and the canyons) not to mention its operation as a winter coat (desert dwellers needing cold-weather clothing).

i'll admit even to its nay-sayers (aka stover dad) that it is tattered and ill-fitting. but i have yet to find a suitable replacement. so until then... cheers to year 15!

this old house

this old house has seen 5 years of use- much more than originally intended. the cheap carpet of this old house was never meant to be as dirt-stained as it is. the oversized wall hanging that looked great in our 2006 living room doesn't look so great now. this old house has an unbearably loud dishwasher we planned to live with for a short amount of time. this old house was never supposed to need a major home repair (stinky bathtub drain- don't ask!) on our watch. the porch on this old house was never meant to hold 5 kiddie pools over 5 summers. this old house's garage was never meant to store as much as it does now. and this old house was never intended to board a kindergartner.

nonetheless, this old house has been good to us. we've grown from a family of 3 to a family of 5 in this old house. we've maintained job stability and even promotions while here. we've moved from 2 standard sized cars to a motorcycle and then on to a van in this old garage. we've been blessed to have many lifelong friends enter in its doors. and we have learned to more valiantly serve the Lord here. yes, this old house has been and continues to be a blessing!