February 24, 2017

None of us know for sure just how deep the snow was up at the cabin. Do you see how far away we are from the cabin here? We had to literally crawl to get that far. Every step we took we sank at least to our knees and usually for me to my waist. Nina seemed to float across the snow though, lucky girl. We had fun building a snowman and finding the fire pit and picnic area buried. There was a dry river bed with fluffy snow so Ryan threw the kids into it and they squealed with delight. We jumped off the railing of the deck and got ourselves stuck (alright, I might be the only one who was stuck) but we all giggled.

Sorry for little snipets at a time. Putting pictures up on this website takes me FOREVER. I have to format each one. I started this probably 13 years ago when I took an html class post graduation so I could continue my education and now there are so many better ways to do it. Maybe in 5 years when Bry is in kindergarten I'll take another class.

February 23, 2017

Yep, definitely back. Puke, puke and more puke and fight with Maybe about school clothes. Sigh. I want to go back to glorious Idaho.

February 22, 2017

We just got back from 3 glorious days in eastern Idaho. Nathan has been asking all day today if we can "keep the cabin". Someday little buddy.

A little teaser photo while I gather some more.

We stopped in Rexburg on our way home and Zachary asked if we could go walk around the temple. Maybe saw this on the wall and wanted her picture next to it because, you know, she too was created in 2008. She's also making sure you can see her shirt, Awesome Since 2008.

January 4, 2017

I think I've mentioned this before, but my kids have a band. It's called Cinefuss (sin-uh-fuss). It looks like this time we have some vocals, Nate on bongos and now introducing Seth on guitar. Usually Savannah is also part of it. I guess she took the night off. Every few months Cinefuss comes around and puts on a concert. A fun reason to be in a big family.

This post is a little bit of randomness, but randomness that makes me happy.

Christmas Eve opening ornamnets from Indiana Gramma and Grampa.

New Year's Eve was a stay-at-home event, but perhaps not even an event. I remember cleaning all day, our friends Karver and Hawk spent a bunch of time over, getting pizza, and then just being worn out from this family of 8 being home all day every day for a week. Don't get me wrong, I love this bunch, but we require a whole lot of maintenance. For the second year, we set up our huge tent in the living room and the kids had a little getaway for the next two nights. We also decorated cookies. Going back to the whole I was worn out thing, I didn't even make them. I totally bought them. I had no desire to clean up ANOTHER mess. Didn't matter to the kids. They still had a good and delicious time. I tell ya, I don't regret creating this big, fun family. There's always a party to be had.

And last, I keep coming across this picture. I know they are just stockings. But look at that bunch. I remember buying that sign and only being able to fill 2 spots. Now, it's full and there's no room for me and Ryan. Back then I had no idea what was waiting for us. The Lord has blessed me with more than I ever thought I was worthy of. A family of 8 is big. It's busy. It's noisy. It's tiring. But it's wonderful.

December 28, 2016

Christmas!

I wanted to live in the moment, take in the excitement with my family so I didn't take many pictures. I can't believe what a difference a year has made though. These little guys aren't going to be so little for too much longer so I welcome the chaos and exhaustion that Christmas brings to our home right now.

2015

2016

2015

2016

November 15, 2016

I am so so proud of Maybe Baby! She is so brave! She entered the school Reflections art contest and received the Award of Merit (the blue ribbon around her neck), which is runner up to first place. The medal is engraved with her name and the category she won. It is so neat! In her age group she competed againt third, fourth, and fifth graders. Maybe spents several days with her grandpa, who is an incredible artist, and learned so many new skills and used them to draw a self-portrait. Maybe loves art and all things creative so this was right up her alley. Also, she spent so many one-on-one hours with her grandpa, which is priceless.

November 1, 2016

The most perfect photo that could have been taken. It is my favorite.

October 29, 2016

It's a Halloween miracle.

They are ALL in the same picture. They are ALL looking at the camera. They are ALL happy.

This is a group of the best kids you'll ever meet.

October 2, 2016

Happy 3rd birthday to the cutest boy around!

September 22, 2016

I actually started this post clear back on August 26 and just haven't had the time to finish it. Six kids is definitely my limit. The thought of having any more kinda gives me a mini anxiety attack.

So this adorable girl...

Was diagnosed with a milk allergy. That means absolutely no dairy. She breaks out in hives all over her body when she does have dairy and you can actually see the line of red work it's way up her face and when it reaches her eyes they itch her so bad. I took her to the allergist to be tested. She didn't even flinch when they poked her back.

So milk is an allergy kids sometimes outgrow. I was told if I wanted to continue to nurse her I needed to stop dairy too. If we can keep all traces of milk out of her system, there is a chance she will kick this thing. I get to have her tested again in 6 months. It has been quite the lifestyle change for me, but totally worth the sacrifice if it means my baby may not have to deal with this the rest of her life. The kids all ask now if what they are eating has milk in it and have been so good at helping us keep her dairy free. It's amazing once you start paying attention at how many things have milk in them (taco seasoning, who would have thought?!) I thought not having cheese would be hard and surprisingly it has actually become kind of nauseating to me. I would love a big cold glass of milk before bed though. I'm going to stay dairy-free as long as Brightyn needs to be so that I know whatever I'm eating will be safe for her. Potlucks have become a whole new anxiety for me. Anyway, this has become the new norm around here and don't be offended when I don't eat your food. I will take a milk allergy over so many other childhood allergies and illnesses. We really have been blessed!

This was right after school started. It was such a calm peaceful trip to the store with just the three of them. A mother of three probably thinks that sounds nutty. And Savannah isn't mad. She was posing and busted up laughing the second the picture was taken. I wish she could stay 4 forever!

The playhouse is coming along. We started shingling the roof last Saturday. Weather and time has slowed that part of the project down. It would sure be helpful if the sun would quit setting so early nowadays! This project felt like it had stalled out for several weeks, but getting the shingles on is really exciting. Next the windows will go in.

Back in August we took a trip up to Bear Lake. That is my new happy place. Hopefully one of these summers we will actually have the vacation time to rent a cabin a stay a few days up there.

My baby started preschool a few weeks ago. I really really miss her when she's gone. She is just such a ray of sunshine.

When someone tells you to take all the peaches from their tree, what can you do but take them and preserve them? I know my limits and only took maybe a quarter of them, but now that it's been a week I'm ready to go again. I like to warm them up with a little bit of cinnamon. Mmmmmmm.

And since I don't feel like I get to be in a whole lotta photos...

August 23, 2016

The playhouse is AMAZING.

You can see it from the road behind us and people are always commenting or asking about it. It's even better up close.

August 22, 2016

Fourth, Third and First grades.

They pose themselves and it makes me giggle.

August 11, 2016

It must be a good summer if this is how the car looks 30 seconds after loading up.

Or if you got to play in a big pile of foam with dad.

Or if you get to share a sucker with both your brother and sister. Yick.

July 28, 2016

I have been wanting to put this up in my laundry room for the last few years and last night I finally did it. Swimsuit organization at it's finest during the swimming season. I will no longer feel bad for anyone who cannot find their swimsuit.

July 18, 2016

July turned out to be a super busy month. Today was our first day that we didn't have anything. It was nice just being at home. I even made the kids stay home and not play with friends. They got off to a rocky start, but for the most part they had a lot of fun being siblings today.

Saturday we worked hard and I decided we earned a night out at Chubby's. Every once in a while they just get out of the car and line up. They're all in a pretty good mood since Chubby's is a family favorite.

July 15, 2016

Are you ready for my randomness?!

I have no idea why Ryan took this, but I love it. All 6 kids in one photo just being themselves.

This picture makes me seriously jealous.

It's blurry but it was so good. I love my chicken parm, homemade spaghetti sauce and all.

I got the best boys.

After Maybe's baptism we headed up to Snowbird Ski Resort. This was at the top of the tram. I could have stayed up there all day. Something about being on top of the mountains is so refreshing and just reset me. I should probably make an effort to get up in the mountains more often.

Clearly cribs are for playing, not sleeping. This little thing is 9 months old and hasn't slept in it yet. Someday....

Can YOU believe she is 9 months old? Me neither. Her pregancy and birth are just still so clear. She's crawling all over the place and loving her new freedom. Her siblings are also having lots more fun with her. She's amazing and our family wouldn't be complete without her.

The playhouse is moving right along.

And last, we may not go on fancy vacations, but put on some jammies and head out for ice cream at 10:00 at night and just look at those smiles. Almost as good as Disneyland.

July 10, 2016

Yesterday Miss Moo was baptized.

I am so grateful for everyone who came and showed their love and support to Maybe and our family.

I gave up a while ago with any hope of getting any cutsie family photos. Now I just ask that everyone be in it. Anyone who is looking at the camera and smiling is just a bonus at this point.

After Maybe's confirmation Seth leaned over to me and told me that he had a really good feeling in here and pointed to his chest. The church is true! Even my 9 year old can tell you that! The Spirit is a wonderful gift that I am so grateful for in my life. I am so grateful I have witnessed it in my children as well.

July 8, 2016

Tonight we separated the girls' bunk beds and put Nina in the nursery where Brightyn is suppose to be but at 9 months is still sleeping in a pack'n'play with us. That tiny baby HATES her crib. Nina has been sleeping on our couch in our bedroom for probably over a year. Even if we make her sleep in her own bed she always ends up on our couch. Hopefully this move solved that problem. Maybe and Savannah make terrible roommates! The boys wanted to help Nina celebrate her new room. Seth got kicked out shortly after this.

So how did Maybe manipulate her way into her own room?!

I have two happy girls tonight. So the three boys are all sharing one room and the older girls each basically have their own rooms. Those girls are so stinkin' lucky! I have a feeling we'll be finishing our basement much sooner than I would like.

July 7, 2016

Did you know my Maybe baby has freckles? There are just enough to make her adorable.

She is so dang beautiful!

July 5, 2016

20 years ago Ryan started having the first barbecue of the Fourth of July. It started at 12:00 am on July 4th and there are burgers and hotdogs and what not. "Mmmmmm, what not." (Did I get that quote right?) Anyway, as the years went on and people moved on, Ryan handed the tradition over to Uncle Nate who has kept it alive and strong. We made it this year. See? We barbecued burgers and I even had a little what not.

What the playhouse looked like at the end of yesterday.

And of course we went and watched fireworks. We were home before 11 and definitely ready for bed.

When I was thinking about last week and all we did, I realized I left out some activities, such as a Sorensen family picnic up at Copperton and a bunch of small things sprinkled in there. No wonder I was having trouble staying awake at church on Sunday.

July 2, 2016

We must be having a good summer if kids are falling asleep at dinner.

Our playhouse is becoming a reality. It seemed like we were preparing for concrete FOREVER and then last Saturday we finally had concrete delivered and then by yesterday we suddenly had walls.

So unnatural. The driver was taking pictures in his truck.

After concrete last Saturday we headed up North to the air show to see the Thunderbirds. By the time we made it up there they had closed the base and weren't letting any more people in. So we parked on a street, ran into some friends randomly, and watched. It wasn't nearly as awesome as being inside, but jets flying super close overhead is always awesome.

We found a new pizza place after the jets. It was such a delicious find and I can't wait to go back up.

And because our day wasn't long and busy enough, we met cousins for ice cream. I'm always glad when I get to spend time with them!

Monday Seth's primary teacher brought over a late birthday present. Oh. my. goodness. He brought Seth so much, I was so shocked. I am so so grateful that all my kids have such awesome teachers right now.

Wednesday we headed up North to the Treehouse Museum. It was so much fun and I can't wait to take my kids back. We didn't have time to even explore everything and all the kids had a great time. They have a no stroller rule so me and Bry were nice and cozy the whole time. We got home just in time for Seth's pack meeting and then off to Ryan's parents house to say hello to his aunt and uncle who were in town. Savannah became best friends with Aunt Terresa almost immediately so it's a good thing they stopped by her house the next night so Aunt Terresa could see her room.

Friday was a loooooooooong day, but still fun. We are all still trying to recover from it. We left at 5 am to head down to Provo to watch the hot air balloons and we are so glad we did! The kids all had so much fun and we even all got to ride in one. It was tethered, but it's the highest any of us had been in a balloon. The heat is really intense. I gotta be honest, I'm not sure I have the guts to ride in one way up in the sky.

After the balloons we went with our cousin Melanie to Seven Peaks for the rest of the day.

And then today happened. We met up with most of Ryan's family for a reunion. It was fun to catch up with his cousins who all live far far away. Soccer is just better when it's up in the mountains.

After the reunion we kept heading up the canyon and went to Heber for ice cream and french fries. While in Heber we visited a crater that is a swimming hole. The water is naturally 94 degrees and this beautiful shade of blue. We didn't swim and I don't think I want to and least in the summer. Just being inside it was too hot and humid.

We had a busy busy week, but it was really fun. We are all sleep deprived and I'm looking forward to a nice calm week ahead. Maybe's baptism is this coming Saturday and we are so excited for her!

June 24, 2016

We've been celebrating our city's "days" all this week. Tonight was the stock parade so mostly it's people riding their horses on the way to the rodeo. Aren't you so impressed how compact we set up for this parade?

June 23, 2016

She thinks she's big.

Crawled on Saturday for the first time, first time riding through the whole shopping trip in the cart, and tonight sat in a restaurant high chair. I really really need time to slow down.

June 22, 2016

Maybe had an awesome birthday.

Me and Ryan have created the absolute cutest kids.

Uncle Nate is THE BEST photographer. He captures my kids like no one else.

I can't believe Maybe is 8. She read The Book of Mormon and prayed about it and received a warm feeling all over her body and she has chosen to get baptized. I'm excited for her and her special day coming up!

June 19, 2016

My favorite birthday present:

From top to bottom it goes Brightyn, Savannah, Seth, Maybe, Zachary, Nathan. It was the absolute most appropriate gift, especially after this past week. I love it and what it represents.

Having my birthday on Father's Day turned out to be alright. We both worked together to make sure each others days were good and I think we succeeded, although I think Ryan worked a little harder than me. BUUUUUT, I did say some pretty nice things about him in front of the entire congregation when I spoke at church so I think it all evened out :) Thanks to Maybe's birthday yesterday and Father's Day and my birthday today, we got to spend the weekend with family and it was so nice to be together. I think I'm ready for a nice quiet relaxing week coming up. 35 started with me in the hopsital and pretty much sucked the entire year. I'm ready for 36 being a nice, calm year.

June 14, 2016

Apparently me and Ryan both like taking selfies with Savannah. How could we not, she's adorable!

June 9, 2016

Well, I did it. I took all six kids to the water park. We survived and had so much fun. This is the only picture you get though because I wasn't about to take my eyes off the little kids. The two older kids can go off by themselves and ride the slides and luckily three of the younger ones are happy to stay in the shallow water (Savannah wants to be with the big kids but the lifeguards said they aren't old enough to take her with them and she's not quite strong enough to carry her own tube :( ). We will definitely be going back lots.

June 6, 2016

The girls helping Gramma buy new chair pads.

Before:

After:

Nina's dad had a hard time with this one. He has a tender spot for his girls, hence they don't have their ears pierced yet. I kept the hair they cut off and Ryan was holding it and his eyes got slightly moist. He'll never admit it, but I was there.

We have been getting a large bowl of these every other day.

I love that we are being blessed with such a great harvest. HOWEVER, we are all getting a little tired of strawberries. The kids asked me today if they could eat oranges instead. We have jammed, shortcaked, pied, and ate fresh these berries. My next berry creation is going to be ice cream, but after that, I think I'm ready to just freeze these guys until we've had a chance to miss them a little.

Last week the cub scouts had their Raingutter Regatta. Seth won one of the races, but didn't place. But he did get to build a sailboat with his dad and if you ask him what his favorite part was, it was using spray paint. Ha ha, I should really let my kids do the simple, fun things in life more often.

The biggest thing at our house right now is the building of the playhouse. We've actually named it "the guesthouse". This thing is going to be awesome. It is so much work. So, so much work. Ryan is working his full-time job, a part-time job and then building this and I'm doing everything else, including the outside stuff he would normally do, to make sure he has time to do all this. The parents at the this house are exhausted.

I actually snapped this photo to show the world that it should never feel bad for Ryan when he's out working. He's never alone. Those cows LOVE Ryan and always follow him around. It makes me giggle, until that one day when we look up and realize they aren't there...it happens every year, and in that moment, I consider becoming a vegetarian, but only for that moment.

We are loving summer vacation. This week the boys are taking a class learning about chemicals and chemical reactions, the girls start ballet and my baby turned 8 whole months. Life is good and we are blessed!

June 2, 2016

Maybe and her second grade teacher.

They ADORED each other. Her teacher always called Maybe her "kindred spirit". Just look at them, they could totally be related. She was so good for Maybe and I'm so grateful Maybe spent the last year with her (less grateful that everything the teacher said was true and right and everything I said had to be double checked with the teacher). The great news is that the teacher lives just up the street so hopefully her and Maybe will get to be friends for many years.

June 1, 2016

This picture makes him so happy, so it makes me so happy. I sure love my Doodle Bug.

May 30, 2016

Savannah is hilarious. Like, all the time. She's got such a fun personality. I want her to stay 4 forever!

May 22, 2016

We shoud take more photos of just the two of us. Especially ones where we are in the canyon.

May 20, 2016

Today was the big dance festival at school. The kids love it and have been so excited about it for weeks.

They turned the 3rd graders into zombies. I had trouble finding my dark haired zombie.

Check out the curl on the end of her tongue!

I had trouble finding her too in that sea of blue. She took her glasses off and had a different hair-do.

My rose bushes are blooming and they are so gorgeous. As a bonus they smell good too.

I planted these lilacs 2 or 3 years ago and this is the first year they have bloomed. I almost pulled them out several times thinking they had died and I'm so glad I didn't! I was sitting on the porch the other day and could smell them, which is the exact reason I planted them there in the first place.

And I just planted these because I thought they were super neat.

May 18, 2016

Well, I'm behind. I'm so sorry. This journal has been severely neglected. Some highlights, have been Zachary's birthday, Seth earning his Wolf badge in scouts, Maybe and Zachary playing soccer, Ryan's new job(s), Mother's Day, Brightyn getting bigger and I'm sure a bunch of other things.

Perhaps my most favorite thing has been the special notebooks I got for the three older kids several months ago. These notebooks are just between me and them. They get to write whatever they want to me, leave it on my pillow, and then I write them back and do the same. It has been so fun to see how each of the kids have taken it and made it their own with their own personalities. It gives us a little one on one communication in a crazy house. It gives me a chance to express my love for them, tell them good things I've noticed they did that day, apologize if needed, or just read what is on their minds. Sometimes I simply write a note for them for the morning, such as their favorite shirt is in the dryer. We've really loved doing it and I can't wait to see how these journals evolve the older they get. Seth had something to tell me the other day but he felt too embarassed to say it so he wrote it in our book. Sometimes I feel like I neglect the emotional needs of all these kids because there are so many of them and it is really hard to give them all the attention I feel they need. I guess these books have eased my burden a little bit.

Speaking of neglecting kids, Savannah is my little neglectarino. She's just at an age where not much is going on in her life, but everyone around her is so busy and needy that she kinda just falls through the cracks. I wouldn't feel too bad for her though. She's been sleeping on the couch in our room for probably the last year almost. I kinda want her to stay 4 forever. I like her as a 4 year old. She's delightful and adorable. All she wants to do is start school, but is missing the deadline because her birthday is in November.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Picture organization is another thing I am pretty far behind on. The good news is my house is generally in a clean state, or able to be in that state relatively quickly, but is it worth it if I don't have time to do some of the things I'd really like to be doing? I do like the compliments when people come over and notice it's clean and I have a bunch of little kids. Oh well, just some things I'm working on, you know, having balance in all areas of my life. Well, shoot, now I've rambled on and didn't post any pictures. Sorry for being lame today.

April 12, 2016

I think Seth had a pretty good birthday. It was early out day at school so it gave us a little longer to celebrate. I have to say that yesterday was Ryan's first day at his new job so unfortunately he wasn't able to be with us for most of it. I miss his old job where he had more freedom to be with us on special days. He's working hard towards a goal that is going to make sure he doesn't have to miss any more!

I took my six kids plus Seth's best friend bowling after school.

Uncle Nate met us at Chubby's for some birthday grub.

This was the calmest she had been all day. She was not feeling so great. I swear my kids get the worst diaper rashes.

We were so full from dinner we did the birthday thing a bit backwards. First we sang and Seth opened his presents. I wish I had taken video instead of pictures of this. We nailed his presents. His reactions were super awesome.

This is him pinching himself to see if all that goodness was real. Actually, it was after he opened up his XBOX. I seriously didn't think he would get one so I told him I really didn't want him to be disappointed and not to expect one. Guess I was wrong! I learned this year that cheap little toys aren't going to cut it anymore. It's only going to get more expensive from here!

Some red velvet cupcakes and ice cream were a perfect ending.

This kid is truly a great kid. It's hard not to spoil him. Of course he gives us grief, he's a kid, but he also just takes care of things without being asked. Many mornings I find Li'l Nate changed, dressed and fed and many nights he gets him changed and in his jammies. He sleeps with Savannah when she asks him to and he is his brothers and sisters biggest cheerleader behind mom and dad. I've always thought this kid was meant for great things in this life and I can't wait to see what he does with his sweet spirit and smart mind.

April 11, 2016

Seth is turning 9 today.

I still remember the day like it was yesterday.

I hope I never, ever, ever forget it.

God knew what he was doing when he gave us Seth first.

Seth is going to do great things in his life.

Happy Birthday Sethie Pie!

April 4, 2016

There's always one.

I got this picture in a text from Ryan on Saturday that said, "Me and President Monson". He actually put gel in my sweet baby's hair. She really did look like him. Only a dad.

March 29, 2016

We had a fabulous Easter. Even #5 as long as he was shoving chocolate in his face.

P.S. Notice anything new on Maybe's cute face?

March 10, 2016

Sorry to be so neglectful. Life with 6 kids is just so so busy. Don't worry, this is mostly pictures and not too much chatter.

I'm still not tired of everyone everywhere stopping me to tell me how pretty/beautiful Brybers is. It's true you know.

Brightyn

Savannah

Maybe

Remind me when I have a free moment to put their matchy matchy pics in a collage.

February 17, 2016

My little valentines.

I really wanted a perfectly adorable picture of the kiddos, but Nate wasn't playing ball so just pretend he's part of the group and not off to the side throwing a fit.

February 16, 2016

February 11, 2016

I found this picture of a messier than normal pantry on Ryan's phone. I'm not sure if this is why he took it, but often, we will take pictures of the inside of the fridge and pantry so that when we're at the store and just can't quite remember if we need something we can look. Genius, huh =).

And just to clarify, when I say I find these pics on Ryan's phone, it's not because I regularly go through Ryan's phone. I have no desire to do that. We have our phones synced up with our dropbox account so both our phone pictures automatically go to the computer. Also genius if you ask me.

February 10, 2016

After around 13 years I finally bought new glasses today.

I think they're adorable.

February 2, 2016

Isn't this the life? A boy, a Saturday morning, an Oreo, and a pile of blankies.

Maybe's animal project for school. She makes really cute zebras, doesn't she.

She can't smile without her ginormous tongue sticking out. It reminds us of Baby Maybe.

Nate Nate's new picture face.

And lastly, look at those sad, sick eyes. We've got two sickies today. Fevers and throw-ups. Yuck.

February 1, 2016

Friday night we had the chance to go tour the Provo City Center Temple. It was beautiful of course. It has the same woodsy feeling that the old tabernacle had and while standing in the chapel I was overcome with feelings of having been in the old tabernacle, sitting in the horribly uncomfortable benches during Stake Conferences, both as a single adult and then married and then with children. The outside structure was kept so as we were inside we could tell what part of the tabernacle we were in. They even kept the amazing steep spiral staircases. So glad we went and I'd love to go back without the kids to really have a chance to look and enjoy it.

Before going in, because how often do they line up so nicely without any reason?

So glad I snapped the above photo because clearly this one did not go as well.

And Saturday I spent a few hours painting the upstairs hallway that leads to some of the kids' rooms. I still need to do the ceiling. I have a strong need to get rid of all the tan paint in the house. It depresses me. I have to do it very piece-meal (is that even how you spell it?) because of the two littlest and the attention they require and I just don't really have the time to devote to it. I've said it before, who knew 6 kids could make a person so busy?!

January 29, 2016

I've always considered this website as our family's journal where one day when the kids are a little older they can come and read about their childhood from my perspective and get my thoughts and feelings on certain events. Also, it's been a great way for family far far away to feel like they have a small inkling of what goes on in our lives. That is why I feel like this is an appropriate place to write about this.

A few days ago me and Zachy finished reading The Book of Mormon together. Full disclosure, we read the children's version with the pictures. He's 5 and the stories are still the same. I've really needed the opportunity to feel the spirit in our home more and reading with him each day one on one has given that to me. I loved hearing his thoughts on different events and battles and enjoyed feeling like I am a part of his spiritual growth, which of course is my job. He's really stuck on Ammon. He told me that his church teachers told him Ammon was a bad guy who wanted us to choose bad choices. After talking to him some more and telling him of so many good things Ammon did and that he was not a bad guy, Zachy says, "Oh, I think I meant Satan, silly me". I'm so glad I was able to clear that up for him =). We talked about Moroni's promise that if we prayed and asked Heavenly Father to tell us if The Book of Mormon was true, he would. So last night I found myself alone with him and tucking him and bed and thought this would be the perfect time to practice what Moroni preached. So I asked Zachy to say a prayer and ask. That is the only thing that was in his prayer. It was sweet and simple, but the spirit that testified to me and to that 5 year old boy was anything but simple. Zachary had a smile and glow about him that hopefully is something he will remember and the warmth that was in the room testified to me also that the gospel is true and as I've said before, I know Heavenly Father loves me and my little family. He has blessed us too much for me to deny that. Now, Maybe is reading and she would rather do it on her own, but I can't wait for her to finish and see what happens to her. I know reading together as a family is important, but there is something about the spiritual one on one with my kids that seems to be what is going to help me raise them as they get older and outside influences try and take that spirituality away from them.

On a much less serious note, OUR NEW KITCHEN TABLE FINALLY CAME! We have been looking and looking for a year or two and finally fell in love with one a few months ago. As a side note to any nay sayers who say I thought you guys were struggling, we ordered it before all the chaos of jobs hit us. Anyway, our other table was old and small. We haven't been able to enjoy a meal comfortably as an entire family for a year or so. It is beautifu! Last night we finally had our first dinner where we all sat and ate together. It was fabulous! It was just the morale boost that I needed. Our house looks so much more homey and less college apartment, well, as long as you don't look at our old, stained, falling apart couches. One thing at a time =).

January 25, 2016

Little Miss would only take a bottle for the first 5 weeks of her life. Now, she won't drink from a bottle at all. She acts like I am trying to poison her even though it's the exact. same. milk. I thought me and that little girl had a deal that she already used up her difficultness during the pregnancy.

January 21, 2016

Alton Brown's individual upside-down peach cake. I highly recommend it.

January 20, 2016

I've been wanting to get all these babies together in one place and I finally wasted a bunch of time and did it this morning. It's not even meant to confuse you. I'll tell you who each of them are starting with the big one and going clockwise.

Nathan, Savannah, Zachary, Maybe, Brightyn and Seth.

And while looking for a hospital picture of Brightyn, I came across this one.

Labor with Bry Bry was rough, like really really rough. Probably my worst one. This picture brings back the day so vividly and reminds me that I am so glad I will never have to go through that again. Pregnancy, labor and birth are all very miraculous and I'm very grateful I was able to experience those in this life, however, I am also ready to close that chapter and move forward to the next.

January 19, 2016

Such a handsome fellow.

Just me and my peeps talking about underage drinking.

I like Seth.

My baby is adorable.

January 15, 2016

Here's why ya'll really come here, to see pictures, not read my ramblings.

Such a serious gymnast. Seriously adorable.

I tried to secretly catch these two but Maybe saw me. What a tender, sweet girl Maybe is with her baby sister.

I'm not tired of people stopping me EVERYWHERE to tell me what a beauty she is. I've been truly blessed with beautiful children outside and more importantly inside.

January 13, 2016

Occassionally, this tired lady...

is a fun mom.

New Year's Eve we set up the tent in the front room and the kids had a two day/night campout. We set up a TV and dvd player and they had a blast.

This tent took up the space of our entire living room and front entry. I couldn't even stand in a spot that would let me take a picture of the massiveness of this set up. It was fun because it was different and it entertained them for the next day and night as well. Totally worth it! If I didn't have the newborn I would have slept with them. Next time for sure!

New Year's Eve night Maybe, Freddy and myself were the only ones who truly made it to midnight. Maybe did wake up Ryan and the four of us counted down and then watched the fireworks out my bedroom window. It was Ryan's first day at his new job so he was exhausted and I'm always exhausted and had no desire to try and keep kids awake, I mean, that just goes against common sense, right? That's okay, we really partied as a family that evening and had a really good time doing it. As the kids get older I am loving how anytime can be a party when there are six kids around.

January 12, 2016

I know I know, you're all wondering where I've been. Here's just some of my thoughts.

I guess life with 6 kids is busier than I could have predicted. With school, homework, piano, basketball, scouts, tumbling, church callings and oh yeah, a new baby, things get pretty crazy. Can I just say hallelujah that 2015 is over? The ONLY good thing that came from that year is our sweet baby Brightyn. We quit 2 jobs and were jobless for the entire month of December. We paid for a new baby, a Christmas, and all of our regular stuff during December. Now THAT stress is over but we do need some time to recover. I am so grateful for wise counsel from leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to stay debt free and always pay a full tithing. Wow, we would be so much worse off if we didn't believe and live by this. Sometimes I get down that we haven't taken our kids to Disneyland, don't have furniture for our living room, or don't do more of the yard and even indoor remodeling that I am looking forward to, but then 2015 happened. My husband was beyond miserable at a job he's quite enjoyed for 12ish years. It was beginning to affect us here at home. He was able to quit, knowing that we would be okay for a time and definitely better off emotionally. What a huge blessing it was to have my husband home for an entire month! I sure love him and appreciate the weight of responsibility he feels to support the 8 of us all while making sure I get to stay home and raise 6 of those 8. Now, we do get a little stress as he is moving into a new phase of his life. Starting a job and being the new guy is not easy and we have been without health insurance since December. My kids aren't really accident prone, but for the love, my cute little 5 year old recently broke his collar bone while sleeping!

Life can be hard, but thankfully we have a loving Savior who knows what we need and when and is there to comfort us when we just aren't sure we can make it if we just remember to turn to Him. I have been enjoying the challenge of reading the Book of Mormon this year and have been reading it to my kids for their school required reading. We've had some good discussions and the Spirit is always with us while we do it. In a time when I'm wondering if I'm doing anything right, the Spirit lets me know I'm a least doing something right. Our family will be okay. We will get over our little bump in the road we are experiencing now. And with any luck, our new kitchen table we ordered so long ago will be here any day.

December 22, 2015

My favorite photo this season so far.

We've done some fun things in December. The above photo was taken at The North Pole at Seven Peaks water park. We rode in boats around a lazy river, sledded down the avalanche racer slides (sooooooo fun!),took a train ride and of course visited Santa. My lazy bones prohibits me from posting more photos from the activity, but believe me when I say it's worth going.

The kids have frosted cookies.

On Sunday we hosted our annual Sorensen Christmas party. My aunt counted 75 of us. What a crowd! My ears are still ringing from the noise and laughter.

Dad shenanigans. You can see how much she appreciated it.

But seriously, those killer blue eyes that match her dads and Zachary's.

December 18, 2015

Happy Jessmas!

Look way back on the stove and you'll see that we indeed honored Jessmas with the making of donuts. I just didn't have it in me to get up and take a proper photo. I gotta be honest, it was a little hard this year. I only slept 3 hours last night, helped with 3 kids' Christmas parties, ate lunch with one of those kids and am hosting quite a large crowd on Sunday. But we did it and now it's time for some well deserved sleep. Who am I kidding, no one lets me sleep, but it's a nice thought.

December 10, 2015

Good thing little sister has Brooke Liv and Rainbow Dash to watch over her while she sleeps.

December 8, 2015

Ryan took Zachary to play disc golf yesterday. Sorry for so many pictures but these all turned out so cute I just couldn't pick one or two. I think we have officially created the cutest boy on earth.

A few Mondays ago I put on my brave mom pants and decided to let the kids do their gingerbread house. I gave the boys two sides and the girls two sides so everything would be nice and fair. Let's just say 4 kids with frosting, candy, a two year old who was just eating the decorations and a newborn that wouldn't stop crying made me just slightly crazy. But we did it and it's displayed in all it's glory.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of this face.

December 6, 2015

Standing in line at Kohl's yesterday for an hour and a half was made so much easier when this is what I got to stare at.

December 4, 2015

One of my most favorite Christmas decorations. It was gifted to us by my mother-in-law when we moved into this house. We have the most perfect nook for them by our front door. They make me so happy to pull up and see them singing their little hearts out.

That green cord leads to this guy.

It's all about the kids, right? (wink wink)

December 3, 2015

Sooooooo many people say to me, "I don't know how you do it". I guess having 6 kids in 8 years isn't normal? It's normal to me. It's all I know. However, here's proof that I'm not as awesome as I may seem =). See:

You can choose to judge me on my incredibly stained burner that is probably never going to be restored to it's natural beauty, or the incredibly burnt grilled cheeses.

I find it interesting that most people, strangers and friends, who comment on Brightyn say she is so pretty. They all seem to use that same word. I love it. I think she is a very beautiful little girl and we are so blessed to have her spirit in our home. I have no idea yet why we needed to be tested and tried getting her here. I had a priesthood blessing at one point early on when things were going downhill pretty fast and I was blessed that I would carry Brightyn full-term. I wish during her pregnancy that I had had more faith to believe that, but when the world and your body is telling you otherwise it's hard to believe. How applicable is that in so many other areas of our lives? God is always right. Things may not be easy, but God does not lie and he knows what is coming. When I was at a really difficult point in the pregnancy I came across this quote, "If you saw the size of the blessing coming, you would understand the magnitude of the battle you are fighting". That could not be more true with this past year and getting Brightyn here safely. Now, we are on to our next trial. Living through it is not fun, but I am going to have faith that whatever is waiting on the otherside of this is going to be worth the battle. Perhaps our new trial and trials to come is the reason for our Brightyn scare. If that is the case, I have no doubt that God does love our family and is helping us endure to the end.

November 30, 2015

It's been a while but we're here!

Brightyn had her 2 month check up today even though she's actually only 8 weeks. She's not exactly the chunkiest of babies, but she's gaining weight and healthy.

Savannah had her 4th birthday the other day. Uncle Nate brought his fancy shmancy new camera to try out and took some amazing pictures. We are so bad at capturing Savannah's smile but he did such an amazing job.

I made a ginormous '4' out of cupcakes for her. It was as creative as I could get that day. I think it was actually quite cute.

I wore my Savannah shirt that day and I kinda wanted to let everyone know when we were out and about why this shirt was so awesome that day. Oh well, I knew it.

November 20, 2015

I thought it would be fun to make cinnamon ornamnets with the kids. In my head I had this awesome idea of making each of their handprints. Well, it was clear that the "dough" was not going to cooperate which sucks because everything online made it look so easy and perfect for kids. Turns out the kids weren't really able to do any of it with me and the handprint thing really wasn't going to work out. I thought letting them each choose a Christmas shape would still be fun. It was tricky getting those onto the cookie sheet to dry and this morning as I looked at them we'll be lucky if half of them make it. Craft fail. Points for trying?

November 6, 2015

This post is thanks to Ryan who likes to take lots of pics with his phone and me looking through them and getting excited that he caught my kiddos (and himself) while I'm not always around. I seriously get excited when I sit down and look through his photos.

So proud of their pumpkins.

I can't believe it's November and my flowers are still going strong! And to think, I was going to pull them well over a month ago. Good thing Ryan's optimism won out and he convinced me that they weren't done.

It's a way bad picture, but that's what our trick-or-treat crew looked like.

Silly brothers.

She lost her other big front tooth two Sundays ago.

Such a good looking kid!

We clean up nice every once in a while.

November 1, 2015

Baby Brightyn was blessed today. It was a beautiful blessing followed by a nice gathering of family and friends.

My attempt to get a nice family photo to commemerate the day. What was I thinking asking 7 other people to stand and smile for like a second. Oh well. Perfect is for suckers.

October 30, 2015

I am seriously in love with this Halloween crew. I mean, just look at them!

This is what my car load looked like on the way to school today.

Even sister dressed up. You just can't see it too well. She's a skeleton.

October 29, 2015

Sisters

October 27, 2015

My three girls. Brightyn evened the score for us and we think it's just perfect. Having the three most beautiful girls just makes it that much better.

October 23, 2015

I got out of the shower yesterday and found Li'l Nate reading to Baby Brightyn. I'd say the 2 year old is just fine with having some new competition.

October 22, 2015

We are all seriously in love with this teeny tiny girl.

October 4, 2015

She calls herself "Super Nina and I'm here to save the day". I don't know about saving anyone's day, but I do agree that she is pretty super.

October 3, 2015

We just picked our pumpkins. How cool is it that we get to grow these every year?

There was even a perfect one for baby sister.

That is one large pumpkin family. I can't believe we've become that big!

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