Choosing Happiness

This thanksgiving I have been thinking about one of the most precious gifts from our Heavenly Father--our agency. I'm so glad we can choose to be happy, choose how we react to trials as Marilyn says (http://light-in-leaves.blogspot.com/2008/11/miracles-and-disappointment.html), and choose what we do with our time and means. These two scriptures say it much better than I can:

"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves." Doctrine & Covenants 104:17

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." 2 Nephi 2:27

I'm finding this choice, the choice to be happy, increasingly difficult as our lives get increasingly busy. But when we took our family pictures the other night and the kids were crazy and screaming and wouldn't wear the clothes we wanted them to and wanted to see every picture on the camera after it was taken, we had to do as Sister Marjorie Hinckley says: "The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

Gabey's Rabies

Eleni thinks Gabe is so clever when he blows bubbles! At Stake Conference last weekend a sweet hispanic lady told me that babies develop these rabid bubbles when they're itchy somewhere. She swears her baby bubbled until she scratched all his cradle cap off. Hey, it's worth a try! Although I can't figure out how itching and bubbles are related . . .

By the way, do you like our out-of-date carseat? I know it must be older than 5 years, but I'm pleading ignorance, since it was given to us by someone.

Shiny, Happy People

Here are a few pictures of my kids smiling, and I'm posting them because it is a rare occurrence that they smile and I actually catch it!

My favorite--I love Eleni's cheesy face!

Which goes to show that you can keep your crayons anywhere.

We got a real kick out of this!

Never set fire to a strobe light.

This is the best I could come up with for Halloween shots, since I was driving home from Salt Lake during trick-or-treating. But we did have fun carving pumpkins last family night. They are Jacob's, Seth's, Lydia's and mine, going left to right. When we were done, I started feeding Gabriel, while Seth spent about an hour "lighting" the pumpkins. We didn't have any candles, so he would light a match and toss it inside until it burnt out (you can see some through the holes). After a while I heard a big bang, and the kids ran in to report that Daddy had blown up our bike strobe light inside Jacob's pumpkin. Don't ask.

Foot Loose and Arm Free!

Never has a mother been so grateful to bathe her kids! Jacob got his cast off on Thursday, and was sooooooo happy! When we got home, he went straight over to the neighbor's, where he and Madi (his best little pal) soaked themselves with her dad's spray hose. I think all that pent up emotion from weeks of "no swimming, no getting wet" finally had to come out sometime! And sweet little Gabe got his cast off on Halloween--what a real Treat! Well, at least it will be in the long run. He hated having it off and screamed bloody murder when the physical therapist shoved his feet into this lovely contraption. He gets to wear this brace for 3 years! But at least we get to start taking it off while he's awake in a few months. For now, it's 23 hours a day, only off for bathtime and stretching. And I'm telling you, these shoes take 20 minutes to put on!

Jacob said, "Mommy, I want a skateboard like Gabriel's!" Yeah, try nursing him with this thing on. When he's laying on his side, he has one leg sticking clear up in the air like he's ready to do a polka.

But the good news is that his foot is normal now. Doesn't it look good?

Many Happy Returns of the Day, Ellie!

Eleni officially turned 2 last Saturday!!! Eleni is such a precious, happy part of our family. Every morning she's the first kid up, and she says in a sing-song voice, "I HAPpy, Mommy!" As Seth often says, "When Eleni smiles, it lights up the whole world." Things Ellers loves:
Tink-a-bell (as you can see--her favorite present), Barbies, Charlie & Lola, Pooh bear, Cinder"ellie," Ariel, butterflies, balloons,
waving goodbye to Daddy and welcoming him with a "HI DADDY!" when he comes home,
riding in the back of the truck with Daddy,
coloring in her coloring books (especially all the eyes of all the Barbies),
eating, especially strawberries, cottage cheese (by the cupful), yogurt, juice, toast, cereal,
Grandma's & Grandpa's (all of them), Elsa,
reading books alone for long periods of time,
home (whenever we go anywhere, she ends up saying, "Wann go home. I do."),
walking around the templegrounds,
wearing Mommy's Young Women's temple necklace,
giving us hugs, sometimes hugging us from behind and biting our rear ends (yes, this is something we need to work on),
being with her family (she prefers being with Jacob and Lyd rather than with friends--something new in this family!), Jesus, and Gabey-Gabe.

WE LOVE OUR ELENI KAYE!!