Pockets Full of Sunshine

I love the song "Pocket Full of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield. It makes me feel happy. I have really taken the time to count my blessings this past week and a half and it has really lifted my spirits. Last fast Sunday we did a family fast for me. My whole family fasted and I felt their prayers and strength. This whole last week I have felt their strength and my Heavenly Father's arms around me. It was so overwhelming, in a good way. My MS has been pretty bad lately. I am over extended right now so the stress is taking it's toll on my body. So I had been feeling depressed. After that fast, I focused more on all the wonderful things in my life. As I started that list, I came to see that it is SOOOOO much longer than the trials I face. I want all of you I have felt your prayers, love and strength. I am so grateful that the Lord makes it so we don't have to go through this life alone. There are so many things that can bring us down if we let them. However, there is one major thing that can bring us eternal happiness and that is the gospel! What a blessing! I am so grateful for my pockets and pockets and pockets full of sunshine!

Sean is 1!

I can't believe that my baby is one year old. We had a little family dinner and party. Sean screamed the whole time we sang to him. He was very tired! He was pacified once we shoved food in his mouth. He liked the cake of course, but was really happy to have ice cream for the first time!

Eating chocolate cake!

Yummy!
Am I cute or what?!
Chocolate cake and homemade vanilla bean ice cream with berry topping!

Check it Out!

Please check out my secondary website to promote my cook book!

http://barenakedcooking.blogspot.com

Back Together!

That's right! New Kids on the Block is getting back together. I was watching the TODAY show this morning and they were there. So many women, my age, were there screaming that you could hardly hear the announcement. All of them were on the show together and they still look HOT! I was completely in love with them when I was a kid! I was going to marry Jonathan. Their new album comes out on May 16th. My sister Rachel and I have already decided that we are so going to a concert when they go on tour!

His first, and hopefully last, criminal act

So the other night Kurtis came to Jacob and told him that he had done his reading homework and signed his folder. Well he has to read to Jacob or I, which he didn't, and either Jake or I have to sign his folder that he read, which neither of us had done. So Jake assumed that Kurtis meant he had signed his name on his folder. Well after Kurtis read to Jacob he brought his folder to Jake to sign. It turns out that Kurtis had forged my signature on his homework folder. It was so funny! We had to explain why he couldn't do that and not to do it again. I couldn't help but laugh. He knew he couldn't go out and play until his reading was done and his folder signed so he did both so he could go play. I had to take a picture of it before I crossed it out and signed it myself. Kids are too fun!

Who knew?

Who knew that the bathroom could be so much fun? One night Kurtis went to the bathroom and he was taking a really long time. I came to the door and knocked and here is how the conversation went.

Mom: Kurtis, what are you doing in there?
Kurtis: Ummm, nothing.
Mom: Are you going to the bathroom?
Kurtis: Ummm, yeah.
Mom: Kurtis, what are you really doing?
Kurtis: Mom, I'm launching my rockets.

He has a rocket launcher that you pump with air and then launch nerf rockets. He was doing that in the bathroom. I was cracking up. He is so funny!

I'm busted!

Okay I know I know, it's been almost 2 months since my last post. So while I sit here on my bed watching Harry Potter I will write a much needed update. Here goes!

Jacob is still working at Purina and has picked up a second job at Home Depot. The reason for the second job is because when summer comes I will no longer have any income so we are hoping to save up the money from the second job to help us float through the summer months. He hates being away from the family and we hate not having him home more, but we are hoping he can quit at Home Depot by July. Let's hope that we can make that happen. He is still the executive secretary to the bishopric in our ward so his Sundays are pretty busy too. He is, as always, a wonderful husband and father. We love him and appreciate how hard he works to provide for us.

Jessica still has MS, and is still not acting like it. However she is finding that that is not such a good idea. She is so used to being crazy busy that she is finding it a hard habit to break. She has dropped all the extras she can, which aren't many, so hopefully she'll make it through the rest of the semester alive. She took a long term sub job teaching music at an elementary school 2 1/2 days a week. She really does love doing it, but by Thursday she's toast. She was also hired on as an assisstant director and publicist for the Children's Chorale of Flagstaff. So doing both those jobs have really become a struggle for her. As much as she loves it, her body needs more rest than the average bear. Because of these jobs her cookbook has been put on hold. She is hoping to get it finished by the middle-end of June. Her hope is that her cookbook will become a huge success and she'll become rich and never have to work again! :)

Kurtis continues to be fun and frustrating all at the same time. Apparently there is a boy at school who is not very nice to him or his friends. So one day when I picked him up from school he told me, "Mom, Gage was not very nice to me and Justin an Dallas an Austen today. But me an Dallas an Justin an Austen have a plan." Then I said, "Oh really?" Then he said, "But I can't tell you because it's a secret, an you're not in our club." I just couldn't help but laugh. He asks questions incesently, almost to the point of insanity. Today he decided to play a "game" with me where we would ask each other questions. When it was my turn, I asked, "Why do you ask so many questions?" At first he said, "I don't know." Then after more proding he said, "I need to know stuff." He has become a very avid reader. He loves reading and is very good at it. We finished our first chapter book in February. We read Treasure Island. The very next week Kurtis' school had reading week and one of the days the kids could come dressed as their favorite character from a book. Kurtis chose to go as Long John Silver. So mom whipped up a costume. Not too bad for such short notice.

Kurtis is such a good big brother. Many times he is the only one who can calm Sean down. He is so loving, sometimes too loving, and sensitive to his brother. Even though they are so far apart, Kurtis still likes to play with him. I love to hear them playing together.

Sean is pulling himself up on everything and is getting ready to walk. He loves to climb our stairs and is pretty fast at it too. He is asserting his independence more and more by screaming at me. When there is something he doesn't like he lets you know by shrieking. I have been working on using baby sign with him(thank you Rachel), and he seems to be catching on and it is helping me to know what he wants. More than anything, he just wants to do things himself, and when I let him he is happy as a clam. He gets into everything now that he is mobile. He especially loves getting into the pantry and making mischief. He still has the cutest smile ever and is such a love bug. He is such a good baby and we love having him in our family.

We hope you all are doing well. I promise to be better about posting.

Love to all!

The Barnums