Thank you, and thank you, and thank you!

My mother-in-law sent me this cartoon strip the other day and it really hit home (in fact, made me tearful.)
The wife begins by saying:
"Thanks for the great weekend away."
"You're welcome."
"I had a great time."
"Me too."
"And now I'm glad to be home"
"It shows." (with all 3 kids in bed besider her.)

"You never know how good you have it until it's gone."

This little saying spoke true during the month of November. You see, Cam and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this past month and traveled together to Costa Rica. Oh the time we had! Food at your disposal, sleeping in, snorkeling on the beach; falling in love all over again. It was an amazing trip. We went to a few different beaches, took surfing lessons, zip lined through the canopy of the jungle, and traveled on horseback to natural hot springs where we covered ourselves with volcanic mud and relaxed in the warm pools of water. Paradise? Yes. Except four little things were missing.

Being away from my kids for 6 days proved to be very difficult for me. It took me 2 days to calm down enough to be able to enjoy myself. Then I talked to my kids on the phone and realized that they were having an excellent time with their grandmas and aunts, and not missing us too much. So I could cope and enjoy the time I had with my husband!

It was so nice to give my attention to Cam again, and so great to come home and feel refreshed and renewed and SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for these 4 beautiful children! Cam and I arrived home around 1am Thursday morning. Words can't describe the joy I felt when the baby woke up in the morning, standing up to her crib and smiling at me with those enormous dimples. I took the baby downstairs (after smothering her with kisses) and soon the rest followed after, giving me hug after hug and telling me how much they missed me. Truly better than any Christmas I can remember. It's so nice to have and give love.

I came downstairs the other morning to find all three kids sitting in the computer chair watching a show on the monitor. Daxton working hard shoveling the steps. Does this photo scream Christmas card or what?! Enjoying the first snow fall of the season. Daxton making a snow angel. And Joshua.

Building Frosty and chowin' down on some frozen goodness.

Triple the trouble.

Joshua

Cam said he would pay Josh 10 dollars if Josh ate a spoonful of the babies creamed peas without gagging. Impressively, he earned the ten bucks. He didn't even take a drink afterward (which makes me think this whole "picky eater" thing is a ploy.) Anyway, Josh really wanted to spend the money at his school's book fair. So, I said go for it. Better he spends it on books than something else, right? He arrived home 45 minutes later than normal, with a couple books in hand and this giant poster that cost $4.50. (If he got it free, he still would have been taken.....) It's hanging in his room.

Josh entered the reflections contest again this year with a music entry. The theme this year was "Together we Can;" so he wrote a song for the piano titled "Together we can build homes for the homeless." (I showed him videos of Hurricane Katrina and asked him what those people would need after something so devasting happened, and he thought they would need a home.) He made the song sound like people were hammering and sawing (playing scales on the piano.) It was fun, and he won!



Josh was a great help while we were gone, and I was told that he really stepped up to help take care of his siblings. Good job buddy!

Daxton

Dax and Ella were playing together in the living room while Daxton had these glasses on. They were playing "house" and Ella said, "Father, where are we going?" To which Dax replied, "I'm not your father. I'm a rock star."

Here he is doing his "rock star" pose.

Dax has started throwing tantrums again. Man, I thought we had passed that phase with few to no casualties. Josh's tantrums peaked when he was 3. It was HORRIBLE. I vividly remember the day before Dax was born, I took Josh to storytime at the library, and left 5 minutes later with boy in arms, kicking and screaming his little lungs out and the whole library staring at me. I could hear their thoughts "Man lady, can't you control your kid?" But wasn't it obvious? Of course I couldn't! Can't you hear him? But Dax never had issues like that. His tantrums consisted of falling to the floor and just lying their, lifeless. But not any more. He'll now yell something like "Fine, I'm never going to play with this toy again!," Then he will run to his room, slam the door, and pull the clothes out of his closet. You think he would learn after picking up his clothes countless times, that he shouldn't pull that one again. But alas, the tantrums continue.

However, my little curly head still oozes with affection. I can handle the tantrums if he continues to ask me if my back needs scratching or if he can cuddle with me. He's very responsible too. He always takes care of himself every morning, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, making his bed and picking up his room. He's always the first to offer his help and continues working long after his brother and sister have finished: shoveling the driveway, vacuming or mopping the floor. He's a good little dude.

Ella

Ella Marie missed me the most. I've been back for over 2 weeks now, but everytime we hug she will say, "Mom, I missed you when you were gone."

Ella is the perfect mix of girly girl and rough and tumble. She will strut around the house wearing my high heels, and posing like this for a picture:

>And then 10 minutes later she is wrestling with her two brothers, pulling out her karate moves and jumping on top of the dog pile.

Ella now has a "pretend grandma" that she talks about quite frequently.

"Mom, I know a lot about parachutes."

"Parachutes?"

"Yeah. My pretent grandma told me. She was little and then she went with her mom and saw some parachutes."

Amelie
Though she has yet to swallow any foreign object, there is ALWAYS something in her mouth that shouldn't be there. Legos, pen lids, carpet fragments, paper, and toy after toy!

This baby is everywhere! Up and down the stairs, in the bathrooms, opening up kitchen cupboards. Here, there, all over the place! It's amazing how quickly they learn and develop. She is giving high fives, waving goodbyes, shaking her head no, and giving kisses. We just had her 9 month check up and she is a heavy weight at 23 lbs 4 oz. (93 percentile). She has two little teeth on bottom and all four coming in on top. She brings so much laughter to our household. Babies are the best.

Cameron
True to form, Cam is a great athlete at anything he attempts. He did an awesome job surfing, and stayed out much longer than I could. He caught on quickly and was soon catching the waves on his own, without the instructor's aid.

Things I love about Cam: he makes me laugh, he knows me better than I know myself, he's an awesome dad, he has a strong testimony, he works hard for our family, he knows how to have fun, he has a love for the outdoors that he shares with his kids, he's handsome, he kicks butt on the slopes, he can make friends with anyone.

Cindy

Did I ever mention that the ocean terrifies me? It's seriously a phobia. So suiting up to go out and surf was quite a struggle. The waves are so big, knocking you up and down, round and round. But snorting that much sea water is suprisingly good for the sinuses. Even snorkeling was difficult, but awesome. My kids love aquariums and I kept thinking how much they would love to be able to swim inside of one giant aquarium! (that is, until we saw a big black eel peeping out of a rock. One long scream, and I was done snorkeling.)

It is amazing how much joy children bring you. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to be on our own for a bit. Just the two of us again. But man, that life would get old! Kids add so much to the mix, and you get the opportunity to teach and shape these little people. You get to give them your love, and you get so much back in return! What a blessing it is to be a mother.