Need I say anything at all?

Cool Guys!!

4:30 a.m.: I hear crying from Brandon, so I go in and comfort him, give him milk and tell him to go back to sleep
4:30 to 5:30: I hear Brandon playing in his crib
5:30: Brandon decides he doesn't like his crib again and protests... Kimball wakes up... and we all head out to the living room to "start our day"...

By the time that lunchtime rolled around, we had about 50 meltdowns, all classified under the "I'm so tired I don't know what to do but have a meltdown" category. Now my angels are both sleeping peacefully, after a good lunch. As I sat down to the computer just now, the first thing I noticed was my camera. I picked it up, not remembering if I had taken any pictures recently, and found these pictures. We took the about a week ago in the evening. We were all in the living room playing and enjoying the evening and Kimball and Brandon found two of Dad's hats on the couch. These were good moments, and they help remind me to keep my cool in the "not-so-good" moments, like this morning.
I am so grateful that I have learned parenting techniques and tools to help me discipline my children without yelling, spanking, or giving long-winded lectures. I'm sure my blood pressure has benefited from these parenting tools... as well as my marriage for I have more energy at the end of the day to spend with Mike.

Lookin good Brandon!

Like father, like son!

Kimball with dad

These two boys look more and more alike
every day... except for their hair colors

Sweet boy!

Anchor

I saw this song posted on Camilla's Blog, a friend of mine from BYUI and thought that I would share it as well. The song is Anchor by Mindy Gledhill. It has become one of my favorite songs... Click here to listen, and just press play on the i-pod when the page loads. Enjoy!

"The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands"

There is a little book that is changing my perspective on being a wife, a book that my father has been urging me to read for the last 4 years. Written by Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who hosts a nationally syndicated talk show, this book is a jewel. Why? Here is a quote from the introduction, just to give you a taste of the message of this book:

"Most of the women who complain that they are not getting what they want from heir husbands should stop and look at how disrespectful and disdainful they are of them. They should look at what they put their time and energy into at the expense of him and their marriage. It would be a stunner for them to realize that they try harder to impress strangers than they try to impress the person who is supposed to be the most important to them (pg xvi of intoduction)."

My marriage to Mike is what I have always described as strong, we work as a team and have enjoyed strength in this unity. Yet there has been something missing, and I couldn't quite pin it down. I never realized what the missing element was until now. I have been putting other obligations and priorities before the man that I married, even putting my children before our marriage. As it says in the book "You had a husband long before you had children." I have been changing little things about my behavior and have noticed these little changes reciprocated in my relationship with my husband. Some of the ideas for making sure that Mike is my priority are:

• Temple trips
• Date nights
  
• A call of affection during the day
• A simple love note
• A kiss at the door
• Putting on a nice outfit while at home in the day, instead of pj's
  
• Request his opinion on family matters more often
• A comment of appreciation for something well done on his part
• A hug
• A home cooked meal
  
• A backrub
• Turn off the TV and just enjoy good conversation and laughter with him
• Listen to him, respond and act interested in his interests
• Express real problems maturely, instead of complaining
• Tell him how he can improve, don't nag!
  

Mike needs to know that he is my priority and that I don't want to change him, instead of feeling that he isn't good enough, or that I wish he would do things differently.I want to be able to keep a healthy perspective towards my marriage, to know that in order to "get" that I must give. More importantly, I should give for the pure joy of giving, not to "get" anything out of it. I love my man, he would conquer the world to bring me caffeine free Dr. Pepper at a simple request! He loves me and our children and supports us in all things, allowing me to stay home with the kiddos... what more could I desire?

P.S. Has anyone else read this book?