Mason and his best friend Tallon came to me and told me that they saw a baby kitty that had died on the side of the road. They felt very strongly that they needed to bury it so that it could make it's way to Heaven the right way. My heart melted! They told me that they felt it in their hearts that it was important to make sure this was done. So they filled up a 5 gallon container with dirt. They also made a head stone and picked flowers. As they were putting the dirt on the kitten they made sure to do it gently so that if it wasn't all the way to heaven it wouldn't hurt it more. Once kitty was properly buried they placed the head stone. Then they both held the flowers and bowed their heads. As I write this and reflect on this moment today it really makes me think about these special spirits that were saved for this time. To come into the world and bring us peace and joy. Their spirits are so tender and I am so grateful that the Lord has put these children into our lives. The joy that comes from being a mother is something that you just can't explain. It is a feeling inside your spirit. When we really understand the gift of having children, and how they build our testimonies and spirits it is amazing. When we got home they both gave me a hug and smiled so brightly. They told me that they felt like Heavenly Father was proud of them. 
Jocie and McKennah had such a fun time at the witch festival. They decided to be fashionable witches. We used 3 cans of colored hairs spray and glitter spray. They got home so late and had to shower to get their hair clean. Jocie was a grump, and just wanted to go to bed. The whole bed would have been black, white, and blue if she slept like that. So We used
Our Fashionable witches
All I can say is my children brighten my life and make me feel so happy! What blessing they are.
So I love gardening. I had been growing some squash and was just about to pick them when our DOG decided they were better suited to be used as soccer balls. She tore them from the vines and played dog soccer all over the yard. She even ate a few as a little snack. What a strange animal. The boys are always working on a project or having some sort of adventure. They went out and found squash all over the yard. So of course they asked if they could carve them into pumpkins. So cute! Well I guess that squash soup isn't really going to happen any more, but the boys and the dog sure had a great time, and that is really all that matters to me.
Jocie and her friend Taylor were SO bored the other day. There was no school and all of their chores were done. Most of their friends were either doing chores or out of town for the UEA weekend. I had to go to work and had heard the phrase "MOM WE ARE SO BORED WHAT CAN WE DO!" I figured I would send them to the new day spa in town. I had heard from other moms and Jocie's friends who had been there that is was so fun and so cute. They were right! After work I picked the girls up and couldn't resist taking pictures. There is a special room for little divas like Jocie and Taylor. There was a runway with costumes. They had pedicures and manicures. They ate scrumptious cupcakes, drank pink hot chocolate, and relaxed and talked girl talk for hours. 
Jocie enjoying her pampering
Taylor relaxing after doing chores
What a fun day for two fun little Princess Divas
Since our basement is under construction to be finished I thought I would make some extra little bedrooms for the kids. Jocie and Mason were definatly at the point that they needed their own rooms. So I went to Wal-Mart and bought a cart full of white sheets. I filled my staple gun and began making the funnest "staple gun sheet bedrooms" ever. So as you can see... Mason has a little harder time staying focused on the task. I could hear him talking and having a great time. In my mind I hoped he was cleaning and talking to some imaginary friend. So I snuck down to check on the kids progress. Jocie is cleaning and organizing while Mason is dressed up like a kangaroo hopping around his room. I ran to get the camera. I couldn't miss this moment. 
The cleaning kangaroo
If you remember that part on Sesame Street where they have the little boxes of kids dancing, and they sing "one of these kids is doing the wrong thing" All the other kids are calm and organized while one is bouncing around and being goofy. Sometimes I have to laugh because I feel like my days are like Sesame Street episodes. 
Jocie the organizer
Jocie has really been enjoying her new dance team and classes. She is working so hard to make sure she does the best she can. She loves to open the front office window and blast her music. She dances on the front lawn to the songs she is dancing to in her competition. She worked so hard the other day she fell asleep on the grass. Good thing Emerson was there to keep her company :)
I am always up for a good practical joke.Don't get grossed out, this is NOT real poop. I have to write about the practical joke I played on Sterling. Since we have two dogs. I am the dog poop picker upper at our house. I have the big dog live outside and the little "person dog" lives with me. He is like my little baby. I love this dog. At the beginning Sterling was not to fond of Little Emerson. Over time he has loved him and doesn't even mind that he snuggles and sleeps between us in our bed. So the other day we had so much fun! The entire neighborhood was over. Even kids I hardly know. The kids were all making a haunted house in the basement. I was up in the kitchen making cookies with Jocie's friends mom Angie. How fun! We laughed and had a great time. We had all of these little pumpkin shaped cookies all frosted and cute. There was a little dough left over. Since it was the perfect color I formed them into tiny little cookie poops. They were perfect. I put them on our bed where Emerson sleeps. Hoping Sterling would freak out. Maybe I am just getting him back for all of the practical jokes he played on me when we were first married. It looked so gross and so good, but was by far my best practical joke yet! 
With the request of $20 from the tooth fairy for the previous event with Mason.... I improvised. I was like, " uhh $20 bucks " Kids think our mouths are ATM machines I think. I went purse diving hoping I could rummage up some cash so I would not have to take a trip to the ATM at midnight. So I have this thing with purses. They are pits of no return. If it enters the purse, chances are it has fallen into the abyss and it is lost forever. Quietly, not to disturb the children ( or the tooth fairy's husband), I go into the extra room and unload the closet of purses. It is like a garage sale in this room. Everything from golf clubs, back massagers, air mattresses, and a closet full of the dreaded PURSES. These are not empty purses. They are FULL of CRAP. Here is a list of just a few Items that can be found in the purses....
Oh what a day we had today.... It starts like this. Around 5 AM Sterling and I get up for our day. Everything is going smoothly until Jocie wakes and tells us, "you are the loudest people on the planet!" When she wakes up she has a really hard time getting back to sleep so she decided to go play video games. Sterling left for work and Mason comes and slithers his way into my bed. I was so tired from my uneasy sleeping that night that I asked Jocie if she minded if I go lay down for a bit and then I would get up and take them to school. "No problem" she says. I reset my alarm on my cell phone. I knew Mason doesn't take long to get ready so I thought I would give him a few extra minutes. Like I have said before, and for anyone that knows Jocie, she is very independent. I didn't realize my alarm was on the lowest volume. I had ear plugs in and never heard it. Mason and I slept for hours. I had mentioned to Jocie that I wasn't feeling well because of lack of sleep. She showered, fed herself, and got a ride to school. She was gone before I knew it. So I think that was the biggest DUHHHHH..... Where is my brain, mom moment so far. Mason wakes up and tells me his tooth feels loose. He did loose one just barely so this one was probably the next to come out. He went in the bathroom and just wiggled it a little. Oh his tooth came out all right!!! Along with a huge chunk of his gums with the tooth still attached. It tore all the way down to the bone. YUCK! My parents always show up at the perfect moment. Thank goodness for grandma. I went to go get some clothes on while grandma got the ice pack. When we got to the dentist he took an x ray. He said they don't see things like that very often. Mason was as calm as a kitten. He sat in the chair with his gums torn and a tooth sticking out of it ready for some business. The nurse gave him a game controller and the ear phones. While he was getting 5 shots of Novocaine he didn't even flinch. NOTHING!!! He calmly played his skateboarding game. The dentist removed the tooth, that had a bit of bone on it, then he stitched the gums back together. I have never seen a braver kid. He has had stitches, without making a sound. He has had 5 deep muscle shots, not a peep. Also a blood draw, not ever a whimper. I wish I had his pain tolerance. In my last post about the "Tooth Fairy" he wrote on the bag that his tooth was worth $2.00. He asked me if this one was worth $20. At this rate I will have to take out a loan to pay the tooth fairy. The kid knows how to bargain.Good thing we had just had family pictures the day before. We want Mason to loose teeth but not need reconstructive surgery every time OK :)
OUCH!
This is right after. He was jumping around at grandmas and wanted to eat
He wants to know if this one is worth $20 LOL!!!
At our house we love the nature channel. Recently we watched a show about penguins. It was so cool to the kids how penguins choose their mate. If you didn't know, this is how they show their love and devotion. First the male penguin finds a beautiful pebble. He shines it, and gets it prepared to present to the girl he loves. He then rolls it to her and presents her with it. If she excepts they are mates for life and will live happily ever after. This warms my heart because when I was little I thought there was no greater man on the planet than my dad. We are still very close and have a wonderful relationship. My dad and Mason have a special friendship. They love to fish together and go see movies. My dad took Mason to see the penguin movie when it first came out. He thought it was cool but didn't realize it was true. When he saw the Discovery channel the other day and that this was true about the "pebble and the penguin" he was amazed. So the other day He came home from school with a rose for me and told me I was the most beautiful mom and the greatest mom ever. As I was picking up all the things that accumulate on the floors during the day I noticed two small perfectly painted pebbles placed at the door of my bedroom. What a sweet boy. He has such a wonderful heart. I hope all you mothers get pebbles of love from your kids :)
The world is Jocie's classroom. She loves to take any opportunity to teach. Last summer Jocie and her friend decided that they were goingto make a summer school in our neighborhood. Without any help, they made fliers, passed them out and had a sign up sheet. They were so organized. Making a role sheet, lesson plans, etc... There was snack time, playtime, reading, nap time and all of the other things they needed. So this year being that Jocie is in the 5Th grade she thought it would be a good idea to make an after school class for Mason and his friend. She made a list and went to the dollar store. She stuck to a strict budget. Got all of the things they would need. She found one of my books about fun crafts for kids and set her lesson plan around at least one fun activity per day. They really take this seriously! The boys listen to her and follow all of the instructions. They have a reading calender at school, and she makes sure they read the time required. The other day she read them a story about monsters. So they made clay sculptures of monsters. If you were wondering.... this is the back storage room in my basement. I am not really that messy :)
