Christmas 2013

I'm finally getting my Christmas post done. For some reason I couldn't get blogger to upload my photos so it took me a while to figure out what was wrong. 

Christmas was wonderful this year. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but for some reason I always forget until it's over and then I kick myself. 

Christmas Eve playing with daddy. I LOVE it when they play together like this. The kids are happy and dad is having fun with the them and that makes for one happy mamma. Sorry don't mind the laundry in the background. I hate folding laundry, to me it's the worst household chore. 

Christmas Eve seemed like it was really busy, but now as I write this I can't for the life of me think of what we did. I know we started the day off making cookies for Santa and did a lot of other stuff too.

 The kids were so excited this year to leave cookies for Santa. Clay is awesome and even helped them sprinkle some oats and carrots on the front lawn for the reindeer. Carter was not really old enough to know what was going on but the girls excitement rubbed off on him.

                                      
I love the magic of Christmas eve when all the presents are laid out and the tree is lit and everything is ready for Christmas. The air feels heavy with the spirit.

And then of course the fun begins on Christmas morning. Luckily all the kids slept in until almost 8 so we got to sleep in too!

I took each of the kids on a special date with mom to pick out their Christmas gifts for their siblings. They loved it and so did I. It was special and they were so excited to exchange their gifts they had gotten for each other.

Christmas night playing with their gifts. 

Clay got me this Shark Sonic Duo Floor Cleaning System. That baby is going to save me a lot of time bending over to scrub the floor. It will also clean carpets and does a pretty good job. 

Cute Kids

It's been awhile since I have posted updates about the kids! They are just to cute for words! 

The girls dressed Carter up in their dance clothes. He loved it, I'm sure in a few years though he wont be to thrilled. He is starting to love to play with his sisters and wants to do just what they do.

These kids are so lucky to have such a great grandma. Every holiday Grandma sends the kids handwritten cards addressed to each of them personally. It is so fun for them to get mail and makes them feel so special!  

Yep it happened, its hard to see but if you look closely you will see a big chunk of Kaitlyn's hair missing. Her friend Lily was over and those two cut each others hair. Unfortunately, well or maybe fortunately for us Lily got it the worst. She had a ponytail on the top of her head and Kait chopped it right off. Oh man I though Lily's mom would hate me forever. Luckily she was really good and just laughed about it. We took Kait in the next day to get a cute bob haircut.

This little man is into everything these days. He especially loves go through dad's bin. 

Seriously could you not just eat him up, he is so precious! 

Kait had her first day of Subeams. She is just growing up in to such a beautiful girl! She was more then ready to move up. Her birthday is in Feb. so she is the oldest in her class.  

This is Kait and her friend Lily (the haircut fiasco), luckily Lily had a really good hairdresser and did miracles for her hair and now it look so cute and you can't even tell.  They are in sunbeams together, it will be a challenge for me this year to get these two to be good and sit still. They just love each other and always want to play.

Carter brought me all of dad's stuff to put on him. It was so cute, and then when I said smile he gave me this cheesy grin.  

Mea taught FHE on love. She drew all these little pictures and cut them out, most of them were just odd shapes. Then for each picture she said something about following Jesus' example of love. I was very proud of her as she did this all by herself. She just loves to teach and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She loves to play school. 

Carter's haircut, he loves to get it cut and is very good. I just thought he looked adorable in that little cape.

It's amazing how fast the kids grow up.

I miss my babies something terrible,  but I'm excited that they are growing up too and love the little people they are!

Instilling Self Confidence in Kids

So lately I have been thinking a TON about how to instill self-confidence in my kids. I want them to grow up and to have a little light in them that shines brighter and for them to know that they are truly amazing.

I don't want them to question if they are good enough or pretty enough. No doubt this will happen; its human nature and we all will get these feeling one time or another. I guess I just want them to be happy and not be afraid to conquer their dreams or live the life they have imagined. I want them to have the courage to do hard things and know that they are better for it.

 So my thoughts have been how can I as their mother help them see this and their true potential.I have thought of a few things and I hope I'm on the right track here because man I feel like this is so important.

First I think the biggest thing here is to lead by example. If my kids see that I am not happy with the person I am then how can I expect them to be happy with themselves. If they see their mom (and dad) being courageous and standing up to do hard things I like to think they will be proud and in turn want to do that for themselves.

Second I struggle with this one. I know it is important to praise your kids and don't get me wrong my kids get plenty of it. I just hope I'm not overdoing. I don't want them to be boastful and think they are better than others. But at the same time I think if you truly tell your child how amazing YOU as her mom thinks she is will believe it. If you are sure to point out how great she is at sharing, or how kind she was to another kid. I think she will want to live up to that expectation that you have for her and always be that way. Does that make sense?

Third is giving your kids the opportunities to really grow. I don't really think it matters how. This is where your kids get to decide for themselves what activities they are interested in. And it is ok if they change often. It could be anything from art, dance, soccer, or singing, whatever they want. I just think it's important to let them have those opportunities to put themselves out there. To sometimes struggle and mess up but in the end work hard and know that they did their very best.

Lastly and probably the most important I believe that if my kids know beyond any doubt that they have a loving Heavenly Father who is there for them no matter what. That they know how much he loves them and can see all the blessing he has given them. They will feel self worth and realize what the truly important things in life are.

I don't know maybe I worry too much about this stuff and I just need to let what is be left alone. But I think parents have such an instrumental role in shaping their kids and instilling that confidence that they will need throughout their lives.

What do you think I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this topic, I sure could use all the help I can get!

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