Nesting...

I owe a lot of you phone calls or emails.

I'm sorry.

It's just that after two straight months of family reunions, I finally realized that I was about to have a baby, and my nesting instinct hit hard.

For those of you who have been there, you probably don't need much of an explanation. And I'm not really sure I can explain it that well anyway. But for some crazy reason, it is now absolutely essential that every single corner in my house is clean and every single unfinished project since high school is completed.

My poor kids.

I have no desire to do anything except dust, sweep, mop, fold and put away laundry, clean baseboards, reorganize every cupboard and closet in my house, hang pictures that have sat in a box for the last year, go through and throw away old papers and letters that I've had for decades...You get the picture.

You'd think that I will never have the opportunity to clean my house again (although, knowing how well I've done at that with three kids, that may not be so far off the mark!).

If only I could bottle up this crazy energy and store it for days ahead. Unfortunately, I'll just have to resort to taking some pictures of my house that at one moment in time actually happened to be clean from top to bottom. Because I really don't think this is going to happen again, at least not for a long time.

I'd REALLY LOVE to talk to you dear friends soon. But first, I really need to go mop the kitchen floor and reorganize my pantry. (And I'm being completely serious.)

Turning EIGHT is GREAT!

I think every birthday is a special reason to celebrate, but there are definitely some birthdays that change your life more than others. Tyler had one of those momentous birthdays this year when he turned eight years old. First, and most importantly, this is the age where we believe a child is ready to make the choice to be baptized. We have spent the last year talking with him a lot about what this decision means, and have been touched by his desire to follow the example of our Savior. He chose to be baptized when we went to Maryland, and we were grateful to share this experience with many family members and friends. As a mother, it is hard to describe the feelings of watching your child grow and make these kinds of decisions in their life. To use Tyler's words, "I felt warm and happy inside." It was a special day for our family.

Another change this birthday has brought to our entire family has been the introduction of CUB SCOUTS. What a world we have entered into! Wow. I must admit that although I am a huge fan of setting goals and working towards something and of the philosophy of Scouting in general, it would be very easy for me to become overwhelmed and eliminate at least some of the time commitment Scouting requires if it weren't for this face...

Tyler's first day of Scouts~on his way to Den Meeting.

Right after his first day of Cub Scout Camp. He couldn't have been more thrilled.

Our first family Pack Meeting (the Raingutter Regatta for those of you who are also entrenched in this world). Poor Robby just doesn't know how he's going to wait two years to join in the fun. When Pack Meeting was over, Tyler said, "See, Robby, why I love Scouts so much? It's SO much fun!" (Not that Robby needed any persuasion about Scouts being fun. He and Annie are practically in tears any time Tyler gets to go to Scouts and they need to stay behind.)

We love Tyler so much and are so excited for all the new experiences he is having. But it is still shocking to me that eight years have flown by this quickly.