STOP THE WORLD!

Can somebody please push the pause button on the whole world EXCEPT for me so I can get caught up on cleaning, laundry, organizing, grocery shopping, and yard work?

Any tips?

Jimmered

We headed up to the Dallas area last weekend for a way too quick visit with my sister's family and a fun little Saturday afternoon of BYU basketball. Great times. I love the Cougars...I love that there were more BYU fans than TCU fans at TCU. I love that we got to see the Millers (and meet their cute new one...and I guess we were finally meeting their cute older ones as well, not enough Miller in our lives), and the Egans, and the other Egans...sad it was such a quick trip, we need to do more of those. (Oh, except that we had to buy a new set of tires and our AC went out...so maybe people need to come visit us instead).

Julie thinks we should put 'because I'm the Mom' on the back of these shirts...whaddya think?

Oh yeah, and Kyle lost ANOTHER tooth...this time in the car, as we were driving to the game. And the tooth is actually lost...somewhere in my car...HAPPY DAY!!! Looking forward to more Jimmer...this week on CBS :-)

Aunt Jill

This post is a little late...but better late than never, right?

We recently enjoyed a visit from my sister Jill, no real reason for the visit, just because. I love 'just because' visits. There is no pressure to follow a schedule or prepare for an event, you just get to hang out and enjoy each other. It always makes me wish we lived closer to family members...big sigh.

Jill got to enjoy our wonderful 'snow day' here in Houston...we had a nice fire, some hot chocolate, games, bowling with friends...all we were missing was snow. HA! (It really was truly cold here, I promise. We needed coats and everything, for real...I saw ice.)

[and for those in the Baybrook ward who are confused as to why the Northrups would hang out with my sister...Jill and Megan were roommates in college so Jill got a double fun visit]

She also helped me pick out a new phone at the mall...we were tempted to purchase this $1200 Easter egg/bird cage chair, but we would have had to take the seats out of the van so we passed...

Thanks for a fun week Jill, come on down to Houston the next time we don't get any snow...or something...

Hockey player?

Here's a close up of Kyle's mouth after his most recent lost tooth...I just love that kid.

Simple, right?

At the beginning of the year one of my sisters-in-law put up a post about her resolutions and in the comments I found a gem that I have stolen as my own. A heart felt 'thank you' to our friend Beth who is full of gems! She stated that her resolution this year is to 'do what matters most'. I love it. It's so simple...or is it?

Do what matters most: watch a dumb TV show or read to your 3 year old, simple.

Do what matters most: comfort child A who is crying for any number of reasons or feed child B who is crying because she is the fifth child and has been ignored for way too long, not so simple (especially when you add in child C, child D, and child E who also need something RIGHT NOW).

Do what matters most: go for a run or eat the leftover treats on the counter, simple.

Do what matters most: do one of the household chores which is long overdue or shower, unfortunately not so simple and not so uncommon!

Do what matters most: read a mindless magazine or read scriptures, simple.

Do what matters most: use the hour of free time you have to truly pamper yourself so you are a happy momma and want to do nice things for your family or grocery shop ALONE, not so simple.

Do what matters most: blog or go interact with a real live person, simple (which is why it has taken me a month to post this...it didn't matter most ;-)

I could go on but you get the point. I have spent the majority of this month asking myself 'what matters most?' It varies from day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute. That is the beauty of this goal. My goal is to do what matters most, not lose 50 pounds or read 20 books or anything concrete yet I'm confident that I will accomplish many wonderful, concretely measurable things this year. I will probably lose weight because usually what matters most is being healthy; going for a run or choosing the veggies over the fudge. I will probably study my scriptures more because usually what matters most is reading them over watching TV, flipping through a mindless magazine, or reading a recreational novel. I will probably be a better wife, mother, and friend because what matters most is usually other people instead of the silliness of the day. I will probably be a happier person because usually what matters most is meeting your basic needs. But sometimes what matters most is eating fudge, watching a movie, and being silly--you just never know.

Happy 2011, may you spend today doing what matters most!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS K!!!

Dear Miss K, I just love you!

I can't believe you are really 9 years old...it seems like you just got here... but I blinked and now you are big. You have your own friends, your own opinions, you are your own person...

and what a fun person you are! I love your quiet sense of humor. I love that you want to learn to cook with me, that you love to do crafts...and that you change diapers. I love that when you make up your mind nobody can change it...and that you make good decisions. I love that you finally got your sister and that your face lights up every day when you play with her. I love that you are not at all selfish. You are a wonderful friend and I'm blessed to have you as my daughter... even if you never let me fix your hair.

Elizabeth's Blessing

We were so fortunate to have all 4 grandparents down for Elizabeth's blessing on the first Sunday of this month. Since that also corresponded with the first Sunday of the year they were all around for a very fun New Year's Eve party. We haven't spent any of the holiday season with Dan's parents since we left Utah so we were especially glad to have them here...they flew in on Christmas night and stayed through the New Year, woohoo! My parents were also able to come in for a long weekend and that was really great. The first morning with all 4 around Aaron exclaimed excitedly "I have TWO Grandmas and TWO Grandpas and TWO brothers and TWO sisters...(dejectedly) but just 'cept I only have one Dad...and one Mom." Ummmm, bragging or complaining kid? It was SO. MUCH. FUN. watching the kids spend time with their grandparents and build those relationships. We wish we lived closer so we could do this more often!

It was a beautiful blessing. Dan is always so articulate and loving at these times, I married the right guy. Elizabeth brings such a sweet, calm spirit to our home and I know she will do many great things on this earth. I'm so grateful for my beautiful little family!