Meet Shelby

This little spitfire is Shelby:

Named after this car:
She comes over to our house at least once a week while her parents are at work. We love having her around the house, it is a nice change from having all boys. Shelby has taught me a few things.
First, having 4 kids is much harder than 3.
Second, girls really do bring more drama with them, even at such a young age.
Third, a spilled bowl of macaroni and cheese (Moore style) splatters in the most unexpected places when dropped from the table.
Fourth, all the efforts taken in watching Shelby are well worth it when she wants to sit by me at church:)

The New Year

January, how do I sum you up in just a few words? How about one: Kids!! My home is bursting at the seems with kids sometimes, whether with my own or added children as well. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from January:

A visit to ISU's Idaho Natural History
Museum elicits smiles from Brandon...

And from Kimball (and from Mommy
because it is free, fun, and educational)

Water fights at bath time! The simple
joys of being a kid

Cuddle time with Mom

Mr. Zach attack is sitting up

The terrific trio

How can a New Year not start off superbly when we are blessed with so much? Motherhood is challenging, and I will be honest that it is not enjoyable sometimes and in fact can be quite messy and stinky and frustrating at times. However, when moments like the ones I have shared with you come along, I try to stay there for as long as I can and relish the moment.

I have really had to work on my patience while Mike has been gone so much with school starting back up after the Christmas break. I take regular "time-outs" when it seems like I can't handle another hectic moment trying to keep our home running smoothly. My time-outs consist of getting into a quiet room, pleading with the Lord to continue to be with me through the rest of the day, and yes perhaps shed a tear or two. After those few minutes alone I find that I can come back to the chaos with a clearer vision and purpose in our home with our children and like it says in D&C 31:9, govern my house in meekness. Mike works so hard while he is out of the home, we are so grateful that he is sacrificing for his family, to support us. We love when we get to spend time with him, and cherish our time with him because it is limited.

Still here...

Dear blog followers,
I am still here, life has been so busy and crazy that I have purposely put off updating my blog so that I could focus on other aspects in my life. I think that in order to get to a place that I can blog in "real time" and not in the past, I will quickly give an update for December and January. Starting with December, this is how we spent our time (in a nutshell):

Thinking about why we celebrate Christmas

Spending time with my parents

Having Mike's parents up from Utah for
Christmas day

Eating good food:)Laughing

Opening gifts

Celebrating 6 years of marriage!!!

December was a beautiful month, it was bitter sweet to see it go. The new year has brought new opportunities and challenges though and I have already learned so much. So lets move on to January...

Creating a foodie!

Remember this post? I remember crunching all my numbers for that post, it seems like only yesterday that I wrote it. I am back at it again, making homemade baby food for Zachary. So far we have made peas and green beans, and I have carrots in the fridge that need to be cooked, pureed and frozen in cubes. Zach is loving food, although he still turns up his nose when I try to feed him breast milk with cereal in it, silly boy. Peas though, he downs those in no time, go figure?? I'm excited to try bananas and applesauce on him soon, I'm sure they will be a hit. Here is what I really want to try, homemade crackers and graham crackers. I always hesitate giving my babies boxed crackers because of the salt content and preservatives. Hopefully Zach will be a foodie, at least that is what I hope to create!

First feeding

So we have tried to feed Zach cereal, several times now in fact, and so far it has not been a very successful endeavor. I have never had such a stubborn little baby thus far, it is going to take persistence and coaxing to get him to like eating cereal. He acts like I am feeding him manure when I give him a bite, it is quite comical to watch and at the same time a bit frustrating. When he starts to get impatient with me trying to feed him, I have to simply smile and say "I guess we will try again tomorrow" and that is the end of it. Maybe he will take better to veggies and fruits in a week or two... maybe not though. All he wants to do is nurse, little stinker!

Mike's Birthday

Mike says he is old, but I disagree! 28 is not old, end of story.

I really wanted to spoil my "old" husband this year and hopefully I achieved this goal. I took him shopping for clothes that he needed (he hates spending money on himself but I made him!). I bought him a dipping oil set, that included Olive oil, Balsamic Vinegar, dishes made especially for dipping oils, spices, and a little recipe book. I think I made a wise decision in that gift for my italian speaker
I wanted some part of his birthday to have an element of surprise involved, and I accomplished that with the cake (thanks to my momma for helping me with this one). It was a cannoli cake, oh so delicous!

Happy Birthday to my "old" hubby, I love you!

Traditions of Christmas

On a bummer note, Brandon and Zachary and I came down with a cold bug right around Thanksgiving... preventing us from traveling to Idaho Falls on Black Friday for one of my favorite occasions, Gingerbread Decorating at Grandma Moore's

On a positive note, the 6 gingerbread houses that I had prepared for my favorite occasion did not go to waste. We headed to my mom's house, armed with loads of candy from the dollar store, to decorate said houses.

Kimball was so proud of his creation

Nice touch there Brandon with the tongue:)

On the Sunday after Christmas, we decided it would be a good time to pull our decorations out and set them up. Zach didn't like that idea though, so I wasn't enjoying the evening until he was happily fed and comfortably sleeping in his crib for the night. At that point everything was all set up, and we decided it was time to slow down and remember the real reason for Christmas. We turned all the lights off, turned the tree's Christmas lights on and sat down in front of our tree as we sang "Away in a Manger" with the kids and talked about why we celebrate Christmas. It was a beautiful family moment, and hopefully we can keep our focus off the glitter and tinsel of Christmas and center our thoughts and hearts on our Savior.

My favorite tree decorations are the ornaments that are centered in Christ. We have a nativity carved out of wood, a beautiful ornament, as well as an ornament with the new star and a scripture printed on it. Another ornament we have says "His Greatest Gift" and it has a painting of the Hand of God holding the Christ child. Perhaps my favorite of these is a mirror, which we place at the top, that is to remind us that we should be living in such a way as to have His image in our countenance.

With all the traditions that we have at Christmas time, with all the hustle and bustle, I hope that I can, with my husband, focus our family on our Savior and celebrating His birth, life, and atonement.

A very Matusek Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving very quietly and peacefully nestled at home. Mike's parents joined us for a full on Thanksgiving feast, prepared by yours truly. It was a lovely day, I don't think I would change a thing... Ok I would change one thing:) I wish my pumpkin cheesecake would have turned out, but I can't be blamed entirely because I was nursing Zachary and wasn't there to pull it out of the oven, and it was pulled out a tad too early. Hence we ended up with pumpkin cheesecake mush, instead of the masterpiece it should have been. Luckily the Sour Cream Apple Pie was delish!

Best part of the day?? Holding hands around the table (cheesy I know, but it added to the spirit of the occasion) and taking turns expressing our deepest gratitude for blessings received. I was deeply touched by my husband, who expressed gratitude for me in his life, as was I moved as well (to tears) by Marty's and Marge's expressions of gratitude. Marty spoke of gratitude for being a husband and father and Marge of gratitude for her role as a wife and mother. Especially poignant was listening to her talk about Alyssa, her daughter, who is currently serving a mission in St. George. I will never forget those precious moments.

This is just plain nasty, Mike actually tried the
heart of the turkey, DISGUSTING!

Marty made his famous Yers Egg Nog

While the turkey was cooking we waited patiently
for the feast to begin by playing games

Our masterpiece turkey... its a beauty!

While Mike, Marty and I were preparing the finishing
touches to our feast, Marge read the boys a few books

A table set for a feast, complete with the BEST
centerpieces ever:)

Playing the Wii together

The Great Brandino turns 3

The last three years with you have brought our family so much love and enjoyment, all because you were born. My how you have grown and developed into an energetic and fun loving boy. I miss my baby Brandon, but you are growing up and we are enjoying every moment with you. Keep that smile, it is infectious. Keep your imagination, it is priceless (and it makes every day oh so interesting). And keep giving your mommy and daddy lots of hugs and kisses. Love you little boy... I mean big boy!!

Spent Brandon's b-day afternoon
at Outer Limits Fun Zone playing

Grammy, Grampy, Mor-mor and Uncle Nate came over
and celebrated his 3rd Birthday. Brandon had a blast
opening presents... and Kimball evengot a little gift
so he could be a super-hero with Kimball

After opening presents it was time to eat a delicious
chocolate Transformers cake. The frosting was intensely
colored, leaving everyone's mouth grey or blue, depending
on which slice of cake you got

Zach Attack