Random bits of life...

Life just keeps on moving by. We are nearly a week into March. The sun is getting stronger and brighter each and every day. The ray are peeking out just beyond reach when the boys hop in the car for school and the sun is starting to slow its decent at night making our evening activities easier since it's not pitch dark at 5:30 PM. Spring is on its way and it makes my soul happy. I finally can see the end of the endless snow, ice and unexpected days off of school. It's time.

Our "Green Day" decor is up and the girls ask daily if they need to wear green or get pinched. It's fun to watch them delight in every single holiday. Easter is on the horizon and they are already talking about what they hope the Bunny leaves in their baskets.

Brynn and Kaitlyn's 4th birthday is fast approaching. The girls and I are going to enjoy a special treat on their big day- Disney's Princesses on Ice at Rupp Arena. Just the mention of it and they are giddy, giggly and darling. Oh the joy to be found in young, sweet little girls.

Basketball wrapped up last night. It was a bitter sweet ending. Josh's and Matt's team, the Wildcats and coached by Rich, was the 3 place team in the regular season with only three losses. Last night we played the number 11 seed and lost in a nail biter. Many tears were shed by the players during the pep talk after the game. It's hard to accept defeat when it simply came too soon. The shining light of the night was when Matt sunk a beautiful jump shot- his first basket of the season. I knew then and there, despite the outcome, it was a magical night- a victory guaranteed. Trey's team, the Super Sonics, were only 2-13, so it was no surprise when we were knocked off by the 2 seed team on Wednesday night. We were in it until the end, but in the final minute the other team pulled away.

It's hard to believe that I don't have any more hoop games to enjoy. It's been our life since November, so it has just become part of our routine- Wednesday and Thursday night practices and Saturdays full of games. The trophies will be presented on Saturday and Josh will have another week of games with the All-Star team. It was a memorable and enjoyable season and I couldn't be more pleased with my boys' growth in skills, teamwork and showing good sportsmanship in victory and defeat.

The end of one season always marks the start of another. I am awaiting the baseball phone call any day which will take up many nights for Josh. Trey and Matt will begin soccer in a few weeks, so no one will be bored for long.

The other phone call I am eager to get is one announcing that Kristi and Todd's little babies have arrived. Kristi is 38 WEEKS with her twins! She is a far better at being pregnant than me. I wish I could be there to cuddle them, feel their delicate skin, rub their silky soft hair and drink in that newborn smell. While I am not jealous of the work that goes into taking care of twins, I know how extra blessed a family is when you get two babies at once. It's beyond crazy and you get deliriously tired, but the joys far outweigh the work.

The girls' last gymnastics class is today at noon. Kaitlyn usually whines and cries when I reminder her it is a gymnastics day, but the past two weeks have been better and she actually got dressed in her leotard without sniffling. She desperately misses Ballet. She did discover she can bunny hop and do somersaults even after she at first deemed them impossible. Brynn is going to miss jumping and climbing on everything and will have to resort to doing tricks and jumps on any bed she can find. Fun for her- not for Mom.

Zach went into for his 6 month well baby check on Wednesday and tipped the scale at 20 1/2 pounds and is 28 inches long! It seems like a have a Josh Jr. on my hands. He is moving like crazy, but it is usually backwards. He finds he way under the table, bed or chairs and needs to be rescued from their tight spaces. He can roll from his back, get up on all fours and almost push himself to a sitting position. He's busy and happy and pure delight. He LOVES eating bananas, rice cereal, pears, sweet potatoes and drinking from a cup. He doesn't have any teeth yet, which makes me happy because it proves he's still a baby. The bottom line- he's just growing up way too fast!

The major two events on the horizon are 1) Rich's oral board exam in May and 2) putting our house on the market by the end of April. Two huge, massive, work intensive and scary things. Rich is studying every waking minute and will travel to Duke for a board review the second week of April. He will then travel to New Jersey for a "Hot Seat" course (mock board set up) the last week of April. It's the last hurdle to complete. I, on the other hand, just can't even begin to prepare the house. I have cleaned out the kids' closets and dejunked their rooms, but the task is endless. Touching up paint, repainting ceilings, scrubbing baseboards, boxing books, re-caulk bathrooms and the other million chores that it will require make me tired just thinking about them. It's going to be hard. Very hard. Not only to pack up, but to leave Lexington. It is truly our home. I could search the world over and not find a better elementary school, neighborhood and cul-de-sac. We have an amazing ward and the boys have great friends. It's our little Camelot. Cincinnati will be a one year adventure, but it will be hard leaving a place like this.

In between running kids to basketball, piano, chorus and here and there I have been busy on the computer. I am well into my 2009 blog book and have nearly reached the 440 page capacity. A fine editing hand will be needed when creating photo layouts with the hope of reaching the posts from December before I run out of room. I complied a beautiful 160 page 2009 photo book crammed with 676 images for our parents for Christmas. Its creation took many of my nights of sleep and I wound up with a bad case of Tennis Elbow from repetitive motion of using the mouse, but it was well worth the pain and time and was by far my favorite Christmas gift I gave or received. Nothing compares with capturing bits of time and moments of life you can share with loved ones.

I also started a recipe blog. The address is: htpp://www.cherylrecipebook.blogspot.com or you can link to it from my sidebar. My beloved cookbook I complied for my ward in Louisville (by assignment, not out of the goodness of my heart... ) is literally held together by a huge clip, sports scorch marks and many of the pages are glued together by syrup. It's a work of art because it proves I do actually cook and I love that I can find my standby favorites within its pages. Sadly, it might not have much life left and I seem to be losing recipes as pages disappear, so I decided to put all my recipes in one place where they are easy to find and share. I promise every recipe is one I have eaten and enjoyed.

My other love that has filled my brief moments of rest has been reading some amazing books. I flew through the Percy Jackson series and LOVED THEM. They are incredible fiction that mix Greek mythology and modern times. They are one of my all time favorite series. I also read the 2010 Newbery Award winner When You Reach Me. It was very different, but enjoyable and kept you wondering throughout. I also loved Princess Academy which I have owned for at least five years and never read. It is a Newbery Honor Book and very well written. Now I am dying to get into The Help, which has been highly recommended by some of my favorite people.

I also am nearly done with the Book of Mormon. I failed to complete our Bishop's reading challenge last year since I trying to read the Doctrine and Covenants before Jan 1 (which I did). I started the Book of Mormon in January and will wrap it up in a few weeks. I have never enjoyed it more and love the many thoughts that I ponder and dwell on throughout the day as I read the pages in the morning. It is such a blessing in my life and gives me strength, energy, and hope to be a better person. I can't imagine trying to raise children in today's crazy and frightening world without its help and guidance. I can see the rampant evil in every newspaper, but know that we can be a shining light in a dark world. I also love how we should me more childlike. I see it everyday as I interact with my own children. They are our perfect example of being submissive, humble, patience, full of love and goodness. They are my true joys and greatest blessings.

There you have it. Life is rich, full, busy and joyful. I am blessed to go through it all with my best friend. Rich is the reason I smile, laugh and enjoy life like a do. Life is busy, but life is good.