Just thoughts!

Little miss Emma thinks that Mara's dance class it her dance class as well. The teacher made the mistake of letting her join them one day and she has been hooked on tutus and fairy wings since. Can't tell you how happy that makes me ;)

While in Utah, we inherited pink cowboy boots that fit Emma just a little too big, and she insists on wearing them. They are so stinking cute on her, I can't resist letting her, even though she clumps around in them and they fall off if I hold her! Her first complete sentence was...

"Hallie give me pink boots!"

She has said that too me so frequently this week, that we now call them the " Hallie gave me pink boots" boots!

I especially love it when she wears them with her tutu and fairy wings!

So with the fun stuff out of the way, I just need to say that I don't think I have ever gone through a worse winter! I can't tell you what the coming of spring means to me. I love the time change. Love that my kids were outside until 7:30pm and it was still light. Love that we played outside all day! love the new baby chicks and the new goats, but love them this year so much more because of the dark gloom this winter held on me. It wasn't just the winter, it was all the "happenings" this winter had.

We end (I say that with a hopeful note) this winter with our toilet overflowing yet again and flooding our basement yet again. Sam and Noah's room was completely flooded this time, so everything had to be moved. Ryan and I couldn't take it again, so we just ripped up all the carpet, pad, sheet rock, moldings, and moved all the furniture. ( why did it have to be the only room we have finished down there that got flooded?) We now have a cement floor, and it will stay that way until we can truly figure out why our drains think it okay to back up into our house.

All kids are upstairs, Sam in Max's bed, Noah sleeping with the girls, and Caleb and Max sharing a twin bed. We are cozy at our house. One blessing is that with Noah in with the girls they sleep the whole night in their bed.

I did not want another house project, and am still in denial...life can just go on the way it is, lots of people live in trail houses...that's just what our downstairs looks like now. No one goes down except to do laundry, we play outside and all watch t.v. together in our bedroom...all eight of us on the bed...that's fine right. We only watch two shows on t.v., so can I just be in denial for a summer? Would that be wrong? I just want to plant my garden and pretend the downstairs doesn't exist.

Four weeks of this semester left and not a single class done. So needing to be a better student, a better teacher, a better friend, but most of all a better mom. Way too many roles to fill. Just need to get this school thing behind me. but the Montana State board is giving me lots of grief...have I mentioned how much I hate politics???

I am so not even feeling like putting on a smile anymore, so if I am not so chipper, it's not you, just know I am going through my own little hell right now. One day it will end, be my friend then......stear clear for now......the bad luck just might rub off.

I can't leave you with a bad note, so here's some funnies for the night.

At the end of family home evening, Mara was sitting on Sam's lap and he had his eyes closed. She lifted his eyelids and said "Hi, Sam!" She kept doing it over and over, then Noah said "do it to me. She lifted Noah's eyelids and said "Hi, Sam!"

Thought the boys might just pee themselves over that one.

Emma was snugglin into bed tonight with Noah and trying desperately to stay awake for longer she said...

"Peee???"

"No", I said, "Noah just took you,"

"Pooo???? she said

"No"

"Gwarwar???" (translation: Water)

I fear I am in for it with that little sassy pants. She is way too smart for her britches.

She must come by it rightly, her older brother Noah was supposed to be doing his Math today and I came it to see how far he was. "I'm all done!" "really I said, you did that quick, let me correct it." was my reply. Seriously the kid had changed the date on the lesson he had done last week. Really, did you think I was that dumb? He got to do two math lessons today for that little stunt. But really, I was not that smart in school!