Sweetness

All my kids are growing up WAY TOO FAST!!!  I love it when I get a chance to just go somewhere and snap shots of them.  It is like freezing the time up for me a little.  I LOVE this age with her.  She totally adores me and I am scared for the day when that will go away.  I hope we can always be close.  She loves to draw pictures of us holding hands and then tapes them up all over our walls.  She loves to write me notes and tell me what they say.  She will tell me anything to make me feel good such as... "You are the best cook ever." 

She has a genuine sweetness about her and loves to take care of others.  I like that about her a lot.  She always has a skip in her walk.  She likes to turn on the music and have me video her dances.  She will wear her ballerina suit all day and prance around the house in her own little world.   She doesn't like me to go to work without saying good-bye, so she will come into my room early in the morning to make sure I haven't left yet.  

Our family is blessed to have this little girl who shakes things up between the boys.  I'm starting to see the differences that little girls have and it makes me love her even more.  I'm glad I have a girl to remind me how sweet life is.

This is usually the goofy face I see around the house all day.
She LOVES her purse made by her cousins.

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thesugies 2011

2011 will always be a year that we will remember.
It was the year that our kids got to swim in the ocean for the first time.
It was the year that Heinrich graduated from the police academy.
It was the year that Sitani started kindergarten.
It was the year that we bought our first home.
It was the year that we learned we were expecting number 4!!!

We are so thankful for our health, jobs, and many more blessings.
We are so excited to see what 2012 will bring!!!

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happy holidays

Hope all your holidays were filled with family and fun.  We had our first Christmas here in our new home and it was fun to start new and carry on old traditions from Christmas.  We feel grateful and so content with all our blessings we have as a family.  2011 will always be a special year for us.  Heinrich graduated from the UVU Police Academy and is getting closer to being done at UVU.  We are expecting number 4 in April.  Sitani started kindergarten this year and is so excited about all he is learning.  Marley takes care of everyone in the house and also loves to remind us how much she is growing up.  She started her first year of soccer and can't wait for spring soccer to start again.  Elijah is still a crazy bundle of joy.  He is his own little self and full of lots of energy.

Mostly we are so grateful for our health, for our jobs, for our home, and for the gospel we know.  We are thankful for good family and friends who bless our family.  We love living here in Utah and find a lot of fun things to do here.  We are excited for 2012 and what it will bring for our little family.  We hope and pray that everyone is healthy and doing well this holiday season!!!

Halloween

I know that Halloween was about three weeks ago but I am just now getting things posted.  :)  We went to the pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins.  We made them carry them all the way back to the truck.  Sitani still wanted to get the biggest one out there.  

 







We also went to our ward's trunk or treat.  These two started in on their candy before it was even over.











On Halloween night, we went trick or treating with the Akiona's.  Every year this lady makes homemade cookies and Tracey gets so excited.

Sitani ran into one of his teammates while trick or treating.  He was excited!!!



This picture is blurry but it is my favorite.  This was Elijah all night.  He was running like crazy from house to house.  I love it when your kids are old enough and finally get the candy thing and they get so excited!!!  It make Halloween so much more fun.



I ran into this hottie on the street and had to get a picture.













When it was all done, we came back and lit our pumpkins and ate lots of candy.

Survival

These past few months, I have just tried to survive each day.  School started and it hasn't stopped.  I've tried and tried to keep up with everything but I've come to realize that I can't.  I just have to survive.  Between a 3 month long headache,  a light case of summer-is-over depression, a new class and new curriculum, moving to a new house,  moving out of an old apartment, a growing belly, 3 growing kids, and a husband in school, I feel like I've had a crazy breakdown these past few months.


I've bombed in the field of blogging.  Sometimes I wonder if that makes me a bad mother.  Sometimes I wonder if working makes me a bad mother.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm catching it ALL and savoring it up.   I try.  People make remarks to me all the time about how a mother should be in the home.  I love Utah.  In my head, I think they are soooo lucky but that doesn't make them a better mother than me.  I love my kids more than anything.   I think quality is better than quantity.  I know moms who are home all day and never hold their children and say I love you.  I may not have them all day, but the time I have them, I love them.  One mom even told me that I should read an article in the Ensign and it would make me stop working for sure.  I thought it was pretty ignorant to say that to someone who is just doing the best she can with what she has.  I was comforted when I heard the talk in April conference by Quentin L. Cook last spring in regarding working or not.


"These are very emotional, personal decisions, but there are two principles that we should always keep in mind. First, no woman should ever feel the need to apologize or feel that her contribution is less significant because she is devoting her primary efforts to raising and nurturing children. Nothing could be more significant in our Father in Heaven’s plan. 
(note: I praise, respect and adore women who spend their days at home just devoted to their families 100%)  


Second, we should all be careful not to be judgmental or assume that sisters are less valiant if the decision is made to work outside the home. We rarely understand or fully appreciate people’s circumstances. Husbands and wives should prayerfully counsel together, understanding they are accountable to God for their decisions."                Quentin L. Cook


I always have to go back to this talk when I start to doubt.  I am working and doing the best I can.  When life gets busy, I have to get rid of anything that takes up my time away from my family.  I am also in LOVE with Heinrich for being such a good father and doing his part.  I think too many families today are unbalanced with a father who works and a mom who nurtures and there is no cooperation.  I love how Heinrich is involved and does sooooo much to love our kids and provide for them even when his plate is plenty full of things he needs to do as well. 


I don't catch it all but I think that what I catch, I REALLY savor and appreciate.  For instance, tonight, I got a second to go on the comp and go through my thousands of pictures that aren't posted.  
soccer 
first day of kindergarten
the swim park
kites in the park
birthdays


It is overwelming to think how far behind I am but I guess this is my life and while I'm not able to post it all and record it all, I can at least live it all.  I will never be the perfect mom but the most important thing I can do is to just love my kids and enjoy my family and our many blessings.


We had a great summer!!!

We drank pool water.  ewww


We went down slides.


We played rough with dad.








I love how her hair gets little curls anytime we swim.


Haini trying to teach all our Utahan kids how to do the shaka.  sad


We soaked up the sun front and back.





We picked flowers in large fields.


We played like Tourists.





We stopped and enjoyed the wildlife.


We saw Old Faithful.





We met up with long lost cousins and had a blast.


Sitani rowed his first kayak and actually went pretty far away from shore without being scared.


The girls sewed aprons with grandma.


Sitani braved the outdoors and slept in his tent.


We picked vegetables from grandma's garden.














Elijah drank water from the hose all summer long.  ewww


We bounced with cousins.


Marley does this thing where she will pick a flower and put it in your ear.  Then she whispers in your ear ,  "You have a flower in your ear."  I think she did it everyday to me this past summer.  I just laughed.


We watched the Freedom Festival parade in our BYU stuff and cheered when BYU and the missionaries passed.




We got glow sticks and watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks on the Provo Temple lawn.


We were surprised when daddy bit into his cake right after we sang to him.


We roller-skated with cousins.  At least we tried.


We did soccer camp for all of June.  It was a blast.


We ran through sprinklers after soccer camp.


We rodes rides at the Orem Summerfest thanks to the $10 grandma and grandpa gave us.


Sitani played tee-ball.  Next year he will do baseball.


We ran  through water parks with friends.





We watched Sitani leave for his first day of kindergarten.


Marley started her first year of soccer and loved it.


Sitani smashed every soccer team he played.


They let me stop and take a couple of pictures along the way.





This is my FAVORITE PICTURE OF THE YEAR.  Marley  was dying to get her ears pierced but Heinrich kept saying no.  Finally, he took her on a special date and she came home with Hello Kitty in her ear.  She was soooooo excited and felt soooooo grown-up.


Elijah falls asleep every time he cuts his hair.


We saw two rainbows.  It was the most amazing thing.


We finally  bought a house and still can't believe that we have two bathrooms.


We always find these two in the same bed.  Marley is a little mother to this guy.   He always crawls into her bed.





We had the best shaved ice with friends.


We ate a lot of strawberries and nutella this summer.


Marley made my bed for me almost every day.  She likes to be a helper.


We saw the most amazing sunsets right in our own little park.


We liked to chase the kite around.


 We hiked the Y until this big storm came along.





We bird sat.


We found sticks and turned them into swords.


We woke up next to each other.


We found a water fountain in the outdoor plaza, stripped, and got soaked.








One day we walked to UVU and walked around like we were all in college.


We took long naps together.


My favorite thing... we layed on blankets in the park with daddy on lazy Sunday  afternoons.



Now can you see why I get sad when school starts and schedules get busy? But life goes on and the kids are already soooooo excited for the snow to come.