"Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine."

Gordon B. Hinckley

Truth be told.  We are all going through hard times. That's why I have started blogging often about those perfect moments I have everyday.  I trust what this great prophet once said.  It has been good for me to focus and look for those moments all day and then keep remembering them till night.  I am thinking it might help my boys as well. So this morning I asked them to tell me their most fun or happiest moment of their day:

Hyrum: creating possible problems for my realistic fiction character.
Paul: Oscar came back from Texas! Today we played soccer together!
Bryan: got signed up for gymnastics.
Jared:snuggling with daddy and mommy.

As for me:

• I loved joking with the boys this morning on the way to school about how stupid it was that Cinderella wore glass slippers. Seriously, glass? What was that fairy godmother thinking? They are asking for stitches. 
• Listening to Bryan sing "Brave" in his best singing voice.  I figured out he says "I wanna see you Big Brain" instead of "I wanna see you be brave." Then finding out that all my boys thought that! 
• I snuggled a lot with sweet Jared today.  He had been so sick with a fever.
• Today we got a dumb game called candy crush and played in on my bed, as pictured above, for longer then the 15 minutes I usually allow. We were having so much fun!
• I love when Brad comes home for lunch!

Brad got in an awesome workout that he is pretty happy about. :)

Relax and rejoice in our divine differences.

What a great day! I love starting out the day snuggling Brad and our boys, one by one, hopping in our bed as they woke up.  Other great things:

• Brad told me, "you are my everything." This means a lot coming from Brad :)
• We went on a nice drive to Utah to run some errands.  We cranked up the music and sang the whole way!
• We had some extra time after getting our oil changed and we walked around the Bountiful temple.  The boys each touched it and we're amazed that the grass was green :)
• Jared learned to chew gum today :) he was so happy with himself :)
• I went to dinner with Michelle and Andrea.  We had great Chinese food and then went to Women's Conference. 
• The musical numbers were amazing!
• The talks were inspiring!
• The company was fantastic!

I was given great advice after questioning what is the best way to raise my boys.  Here's what I was told, that I liked:

• Teach your boys responsibility and accountability from day one. 
• Teach them that at times it is just the way things are.  We go to church.  We do homework.  We are kind and loving. 
• Treat your home like an MTC.

"Folks are usually as happy as they make their minds up to be."  -Abraham Lincoln

Jared, already decked out in his jammies, handed me his coat to put it on him.  As I zipped it up I noticed what shoes he was wearing.  It made me smile. 

Yesterday we got to have Remi over!  We just love this girl! Bryan made a home for them.  He is such a great boy! Jared misses this "Rummy" girl. He followed her around everywhere.

I am so glad Brad is home and so glad Nancy came up to help while he was at a conference.

 Jared loves when Hyrum gives him piggy back rides! They are so cute!

I love that the boys play together!

 I love reading together!

happy happy joy joy happy happy joy

Today started out with a little guy in our apartment complex who was lost.  Bryan and I looked and looked for him for a half an hour.  That poor grandma who was watching him! A few calls were made and policemen showed up and at last Michelle Steineckert found the little lost 5 year old! That made me so glad! 

I loved working with Bryan on his letters.  He is doing a great job.  He drew a picture of our family that was adorable.  He also said something that was funny to me: 

"I'm unforgettable, right mom?"

I full heartedly agreed, "uh huh!"

"That means I forget a lot. .."

I think he got unforgettable mixed up with forgetful :)

Today we went with Michelle and her two kids to the bear River walkway.  It was a nice walk and We really enjoyed the sun.  The boys played with sticks in the water and even found a few crawdads claws!

In the evening, Hyrum and Paul and Bryan all ran a mile with me!!!!! I couldn't run fast and a mile might have been too much and it hurt like crazy, but Bryan ran the whole thing! I am so impressed with my 5 year old!

Happy

Happy

Joy

Joy

Happy

Happy

Joy. 

This blogging everyday had been fun! It's like the glad game from Pollianna. I love that movie.  Anyway, things that made me glad today:

• Jared falling asleep on me. 
• Going to physical therapy for the first time.  I really enjoyed it and I am very hopeful that this is the step I need to take for healing. 
• I took Bryan and Jared to the gym today. It was nice to watch them run around. 
• I love our diving to school talks in the morning.  We pray and read a random scripture mastery and talk about it.  We have been doing it for over a year and it had been such a great experience!
• Bryan said today, "I hate when the world moves!"
• Nancy came up to help me with the house and with the boys.  It is nice to have her here! She helps out so much and the boys just love her!
• Hyrum wrote me a very nice note. 
• Paul and I always make jokes out of his homework and laugh and laugh! 
• I got a nice phone call from Brad today.  He sounded so so happy, that makes me glad :)

Happy birthday Jared!

Today we celebrated Jared's birthday!

Jared brings our family joy and happiness everyday! He gives hugs and kisses when others are sad or hurt.  

He says funny random things.  Jared dances to music and runs fast after pestering his brothers :) he loves books and parks, animals and walks.

He loves his family and his grandma's and grandpa's.

He loves girls that baby him and cousins that pamper him. Playing catch is his favorite and he loves kicking balls around.

We are so happy Jared is in our family!

Other things that made me happy today-

My primary class! I just love those kids! Remy raised her hand in the big primary class telling everyone that she comes to church "to see sister Baxter!" Also my runaway child didn't runaway today! And Brad came to my class to help out! I love teaching with Brad! I Love having Bryan in class! He was so reverent today! 

I love watching Brad as a dad! Match madness has been a blast for our family this year! Also the boys all played keep away just before bed tonight.  It was so cute!

Also, this is on a selfish note.  But I just don't love 99.9% of all pictures of me.  I look at the picture and think, "seriously, is that what I look like?!" Anyway, I got ready for church today and thought my hair looked great and my eyelashes looked awesome so I snapped a few selfies, which I embarrassly admit I took and I actually like.  It is what I see in the mirror. And when I am 90, I will be glad that I took. 

Happy day!

What was happy today:

Stopping by my dad's for a couple hours! He had surgery yesterday and so me, Paula and dad laid on their bed playing candy crush and talked.  I had a really good time!!  And joy Jones brought over dinner! I was so glad someone is helping take care of my dad and Paula

Brigham city sunsets!

I woke up with Brad joking around about auto correct and selfies with Obama.  I love mornings when we lay in bed, in no hurry to get up, laughing about random inside jokes.

Hyrum went to a birthday party!

I went to a doctor today for my back.  It went good.  It was a doctor I have known for a long long time.  I trust him.  He recommended physical therapy, which feels like it is my best choice.

Paul lost his first tooth today!

Singing love is an open door with Hyrum!

Bryan's big grin!

Jared hugging me tight! And that he was randomly kissing my toes. Sweet boy!

Things that made me happy today!

I am going to try and blog a picture everyday or every couple of days about what makes me happy! 

This is our beautiful view from our apartment.  Grandma Baxter told me it looks like a third world country.  She's right and when ever I look at it it can be a little depressing.  So today we went to the dollar store and got some sidewalk chalk to make it happy! The boys had a blast!

I took the boys to a park today! I could only sit on the bench, but the boys climbed trees and practiced drop kicking a ball.  Jared meandered in all the grass. It was a happy moment in time!

Brad gave me a great back rub tonight! He and the boys are all enjoying match madness.

My visiting teachers are awesome! They were so kind to come today and let me complain.

Hyrum made us pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

- - -stitches- - -

Saturday night, right after family scripture study, the boys were a little rowdy. I few bags of groceries were still out, waiting to be put away.  Hyrum was laying on the floor and Jared found a can of soup.  He loves to play catch, that boy.  And he threw that can to Hyrum.  Although he was just two feet away, that can sure did some damage to Hyrum's face.  His front teeth sliced right through his lip.  His top gums were cut in many places.  Blood was clotting as it gushed out of his wounds.

We got the blood to slow and really looked at it.  Yep, this was gonna need stitches.  Of course I still called my brother Dave to confirm. At the ER, they stitched him up as I held his hands.  I told Hyrum to squeeze my hands if it hurts.  My boy didn't flinch through the shots,  stitching or all the tugging on his lips.  He was incredibly brave and strong! He got three dissolvable stitches and three blue stitches.  His lip was completely sliced about a half an inch. 

Today Hyrum got them removed! 

Before:

And during:

And after;

 

Once again, Hyrum was brave and strong. He told me afterwards how much it hurt.  That silly kid. .. he wanted to save the stitches and the scab.  So the kind nurse got tape and a tongue depressor and displayed those stitches on it.  

Bryan enjoyed watching it all down.  And telling everyone that he is already a doctor and when he grows up he is going to be a cowboy doctor robot.  And then he let everyone know how shy he is. .. What a nut :)

We'll leave off with that. 

St. Patricks Day

We have had the leprechaun in years past, green pancakes, footprints, the works.  One year we even caught the leprechaus shadow. This year.  I wasn't feeling up to that.  I found the kids green shirts in the laundry baskets and topped out at that.  We have had a lot of medical issues lately. But the guilt and desire to do something set in.  I love holidays! I had found a few ideas and recipes and made the choice to put in that effort and push through the pain for my family.  So I made a nice dinner:

 Yes, disposable dishes are a must right now.

 And I had already made a banner! Ya! I love banners! The kids loved the meal and want it as a tradition! Hyrum did a great job with the shiscabobs. Which I have no idea how to spell...

SPICY SALSA VERDE CHICKEN

PREP TIME

 1 hour

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 10 mins

A bright, refreshing and spicy green salsa recipe served over grilled chicken.

Author: Gina Matsoukas

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

1 cup basil leaves, packed

1 cup cilantro, packed

½ cup parsley, packed

½ jalapeno pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 small shallot ,chopped

zest of 1 lime

juice of ½ lime

3 tablespoons orange juice (fresh is best)

salt & pepper

1 lb. chicken breasts

extra virgin olive oil for grilling

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a blender.Blend until puréed.Combine chicken breasts with half the salsa mixture in a large bowl, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.Heat a stove top grill pan (or outdoor grill if it’s not 8 degrees where you are) over medium heat and grease with extra virgin olive oil.Place chicken breasts on grill pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. This will depend on how thick your chicken is.Once cooked through, remove from grill pan and spoon remaining salsa over the top of each chicken breast.Serve with a lime wedge and garnish with cilantro.

It was delish! And Brad loved the cilantro!

Happy St Patricks Day!