The cold never bothered me anyway

I found this picture of Elsa as a brunette
Isn't she just lovely?

Granted I live in southern California where the winters rarely drop below 50 degrees fahrenheit, so my version of cold is a lot milder than most folks in the United States.  But I love my SoCal cold.  Often times during winter, I'm walking around with short sleeve shirts, and yes I am cold and it does sting a bit, but I love that feeling.  Some people think I'm insane, but I love it.

That being said, I'm not a fan of summer.  No way José!  Let me tell you why.  First and foremost is the fact that skin cancer runs in my family.  One of my aunts passed away when she was 25 years old, leaving behind two young daughters.  A few of my other aunts have had cancers removed just before they became problems.  I've had pre-cancerous spots removed as well.  So while most women are looking forward to getting tan during the summer, I'm constantly slathering SPF 50 or greater on my skin in hopes of preventing any sort of burning; that's another thing, I burn easily.  My sunburns turn into nice tans, but another crazy thing about me, is I love being pale (I liked it before it was cool by the way, is it even cool still?)

I get hot quickly as well, I'm talking about heat stroke hot. I won't mention the fact that I also sweat a lot too. Maybe that was too much information, but being uncomfortably hot when it's only 80 degrees and melting as soon as I step outside, doesn't make for much fun.  I'm like Olaf from Frozen, I melt (sweat) at the slightest exposure to heat.

Me during summer LOL

I love the frigid cold of winter and the sweaters, scarves, and hot cocoa that come with it; the chili noses and rosy cheeks. The cold against my skin reminds me how alive I am. We have a swing set and my favorite time to sit and swing is at night when it's cold. When I get home from dropping off the babysitter after one of our date nights, I sit on one of the swings and feel the cold wind sting my cheeks as I swing back and forth and look up at the clear starry night (have you noticed that the winter night sky is much clearer than the summer night sky), alone, just me and the winter night.  I love it.  Now the days are getting longer and the nights stay warmer, so it's not as enjoyable for me.

Winter Love

If I could have my way, in my own little Lavinia world, my year would only consist of three months: October, November, and December.  But it's a good thing we all don't live in the Lavinia Universe.

I said I'm not a fan of summer, but that doesn't mean I hate it, it's just uncomfortable to me, very uncomfortable.  But I try not to ruin it for everyone else who LOVES summer.  There are many things I love about summer:

The beach

Playing in the sprinklers with my littles

Fresh fruits

Lazy days

Independence Day 

Independence Day Parades

Shave Ice

BBQ

No, I don't hate summer, it's more unpleasant for me than for others, being with my family makes it so much more fun and enjoyable, the ones whom I love dearly.  After all,  as Olaf says, "Some people are worth melting for.

When summer is in full effect, I am secretly counting down the months until October arrives.  My kids and I were already just discussing Halloween costumes yesterday.  It's never too early to plan, right?

Halloween is in five months, just a friendly FYI ;) 

Sweet Sabbath Day

Sundays are special because it's the day we go to church, but most Sunday mornings are hectic in our home.  My husband has meetings in morning so it's my job getting the littles ready for church and get us there on time.  I hate to admit that I tend to raise my voice at my children in frustration sometimes as I rush them to get ready so we are not late, but this has not worked out very well.

I do my best to prepare for Sunday on Saturday by getting the kids bathed and setting out their clothes, but I still allow my frustrations get the best of me when Sunday morning rolls around, which ruins the spirit of our home and the importance for the day.  Not to mention, it makes the adversary smile to see our family so out of harmony as we prepare for church.

Yesterday I decided that I was not going to get frustrated this morning as we got ready for church, no matter what happened, I was not going to raise my voice.  

The morning went well, we got off to a late start but I was not going to allow that to get me worked up.  If we were late, at least we'd still have the spirit with us.  I usually get the kids fed and dressed before I get ready, that way I know they are ready to go when I'm done because if I don't, then we are all getting ready at the same time and it usually means someone gets distracted or all of them get distracted.  There were a few moments when someone couldn't find a shoe or button a shirt and the child got frustrated but I calmly took care of these things and made sure the child knew that it was fine. This morning we all were fed, dressed, happy and we left well before we normally do.

The drive there was peaceful.  I chose to listen to Mercy River (I own all four of their albums, really uplifting and inspiring music; especially for women and mothers) which really set the tone and kept the Spirit present.  I noticed the children were listening, there was no fighting or bickering.  Trenton even asked if we were listening to songs about Jesus.   

We sat in an actual pew, usually my husband has us sit in the very back row of chairs so as not to disturb the meeting since we have four littles.  But I enjoy sitting in a pew so much more.  Before Sacrament meeting started, one of the Primary leaders asked me to sub in the CTR 8 class (I think it was that one) and of course I said yes.  I was excited because my boys are in Primary and I love being with them even if it's not in their class, I get to see them during sharing time.

The speakers were great; a youth speaker, a convert, and a returned sister missionary.

My lesson for the kids was on Joseph forgiving his brothers for selling him as a slave.  It was a great lesson and the children knew all the details of the story.  I was very impressed with how much of the scriptures they knew and for be so well behaved.

I feel Primary gets a bad wrap at times, I think some people cross their fingers and hope they can avoid a calling in Primary at all costs.  I used to be one of those, but that changed once I had children of my own.  Maybe we forget what it's like to be children and how fun and carefree it was, and mistake it for being too loud and rambunctious.

When I'm in Primary, I am reminded of the simple things of the Gospel, yet at the same time the most important ones as well; pray, read my scriptures, love, choose the right, and serve.  I see children in Primary and how they are sponges, taking it all in and knowing the Savior is real. The faith they have is so strong, they are not afraid to talk about their Savior and tell others about Him and how much He loves them.  I want to be like these children, my children.  

Speaking of my children, my boys sat so reverently during sharing time.  I was so proud of them. 

The spirit was so strong with me today.  I wept a little throughout the day, not because I was sad, but because I felt the spirit and I know my children did too.

I hope every Sunday is like this.  I know that I as the mother set the tone of what the day will be like, the day will only go well if I am in a good mood and have a welcoming spirit.

I've always loved this picture of the Savior blessing the Nephite children.
Look at the joy on that little girl's face, the excitement in her eyes.

Daddy's day off

Michael took the day off from work today and it was a great day. We took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese's pizza and they were so busy playing, they didn't even eat any food while we were there. Tommy was all over the place, he some how ended up inside the little kids basketball game, that's Tommy for ya.


Joseph's first time at Chuck E. Cheese's



The boys with "the mouse" and some other kids that were there. Of course my boys' faces wouldn't come out clearly in this pic. The other kids were excited to have a picture though.

What's new with us

The boys are definitely getting bigger. I look at Tommy and Trenton and they are big boys, not babies anymore. Of course I still call them my babies. It's great having conversations with them now, the things they do and say are so cute.

Tommy has been wanting to fly these past few weeks. They watched Peter Pan with the babysitter and has been wanting fly ever since then. I told him he can pretend to fly and when he grows up he can fly airplanes. He looks at me disappointed and says, "Aw" when I tell him that he can't physically fly. He has a toy plane and makes it fly constantly, and loves it. He says, "Look, mama, it fly." He is so cute. He is also asking me for everything, he wanted a monkey today. I told him we can't have a monkey, I should go buy a stuffed monkey for him. He also wants some sort of Thomas the train station thingy. I bought the boys a Thomas oval train set and it came with a "Yearbook" of different tracks and trains and he points to a certain train track and says, "I want it. I want it." I told him we'll have to ask Santa Claus. I think they might really get the Santa concept this year.

Tommy also likes to step on the step to our fireplace and put on a "show". He'll get up there and dance and sing and then step down and say, "Your turn." It's definitely adorable.

Tommy loves to sit and take things apart and put them back together, he's got the patience for that.

Both of the boys have been playing more imaginative play as well. They play doctor and tell us that we are sick. They have a doctor kit and use the stethoscope to listen to our hearts. They also play outside and one will come in and open the shutters to one of the windows on the inside and they play drive through LOL, it's funny to see them ask eachother for food.

They have recently become obsessed with Thomas the Train, so we have some books and a few trains. Luckily, Time Warner Cable has a few shows on demand that are free so Trenton will ask to watch "train tracks" and then we'll watch Thomas.

Trenton loves playing with Joseph, he is so good at keeping him busy and making him laugh so I can get things done. Trenton and Joey have a special relationship. Trenton will keep Joey occupied and Tommy will help me cook.

Trenton is outgoing but not as comfortable with putting on "shows" like Tommy does. But he loves to "read" books and do a lot of imaginative play. They both love to color and paint. Trenton has a sweet tooth, he's always asking for cake and cookies like we have an endless supply. He also has a memory like an elephant so if you promise him something, he'll make sure you keep your word. Trenton is always asking about things and what they do.

I can't believe TnT are now 2 and a half years old. Time really flies. I'm going to start potty training in the fall, wish me luck with that one.

Now on to Joseph. He just started crawling yesterday, August 20, but I don't think he really gets what he's doing. It's like he doesn't realize that it's him that is taking him to certain place to get certain toys. Joseph is such a happy baby. He loves to laugh and giggle, and he's super ticklish. He's not too crazy about baby food, he'd rather pick up food and put it in his mouth, so I give him a lot of baby finger foods. He also likes canned peas and has been know to steal french fries from his brothers plates at times.

As for Michael and I, we are good. Michael has been busy slaying dragons for us here at home. He's been super busy this past week. I'm grateful for all of his hard work. I miss him, he's been gone since Sunday night, he'll be home tonight.