Swensen Sentral

Morning was great. Luckily Santa came. Amelie wasn't 100% sure. He did give her a warning. 

I didn't feel like cookin'.  And this was delicious. 

We heard some elves came and decorated the forest near our house, so last night we drove by to see it. They call it Santa's Magical Kingdom and every tree and space was decked out with lights. Pretty awesome!  We took the pets with us. Skye found that she could get the best possible view from the steering wheel or dashboard. 

Walking through the Honda dealership to pick up my van, Soleil stops and says "mom did you HEAR that?" To which I replied "no" and then she says with a smirk on her face "I just tooted" and snickers. Everyone around us snickered too. Never a dull moment with this girl. 

I told Soleil to be polite and remember her manners when she went to be babysat at a friends house. Then it dawned on me that she may not understand what "remember your manners" means. So I asked her "do you know what it means to remember your manners?" She replied confidently "yep!" Me, "so what does it mean?"  Her, "To not toot."  I busted up laughing. Not exactly what I meant but that definitely is good manners to not toot. 

Found this girl outside, barefoot and dressed for summer, eating snow.  When she came inside I asked her if she was cold. Her answer? "Mom! I ate snow!" Being cold was far from her mind. 

I  am so happy right now. In the quiet of my room. Reading a book. And snuggling with these cuties. 

I just found Soleil sitting in the Walmart bathroom next to the toilet plunger hiding from me. I told her to get away from that and asked her if she touched it. Her reply, "uhhhh no, I just picked it up and slapped it on my head".  I tell you it's amazing that kids survive childhood. 

With our friends the Wilson's.  Joel, Anna, Sammy, Caleb, Theo

Meet our newest additions.  Siamese Snowshoe sisters. We named this one Luna because her eyes look like big moons. This one we call Skye because her eyes are bluer and she's got clouds on her cheeks We are adoring them!

This boy stole my heart years ago with his baby blue eyes. He may be getting older and wiser too, but when he looked up at me yesterday with those eyes I saw that baby I fell in love with. I couldn't have asked God for a better son. 

Took the kids to the zoo yesterday just for fun. Rick has been out of town on business so it was just us. I just love that our zoo here is free so we can go whenever we feel like it. 

Missouri is so much more beautiful than I ever thought. I just can't get over how beautiful all the Fall colors are. We took a 1 1/2 mile hike in Rockwoods Reservation today and it was just incredible. And 15 min from our house!

Just wanted to quickly jot down some of the things I remembered before I forget. On Monday for FHE Rick gave the kids Fathers Blessings. He's been meaning to do it since school started but just hadn't found the time yet. Our home was quiet and peaceful for a brief time and I felt happy.  For Soleil, he blessed her to be a window of happiness and sunshine to her mother. He blessed Sawyer to learn well in school, to make good friends, and to be a helper to his mom. For Amelie, he blessed her to be a good big sister to Soleil, to continue learning well in school and to be a good friend to others, and to prepare to make her baptismal covenants. And Chase was blessed to enjoy his athletic talents and be a good example to his treammates, and always remember who he is when he faces tough decisions and temptations.  It was a very peaceful experience and so sweet to see such tiny little kids being reverent in the hands of their father. (written 9/15/14 but never ...

Haven't posted pics yet of Amelie's horseback riding lesson. She loved it so much. And I admit I did a little bit too, ok maybe a lot bit  . Wish they weren't so darn expensive! Her trainer said she picked up posting faster than anyone she's taught. Baskin Farms  with Finny the Pony