Super Mom on Mother's Days by Ben Anderson

So I am blogjacking to let all of my Wonderful Wife's fans know what an amazing mother she is and to show off some photographs of our Mother's Day celebrations over the past 8 years. Her children have always come first, and her joy is in her children. She is an amazing example of a loving parent and always wants what's best for them, no matter the cost to herself.

Here she is on her first Mother's Day, commencing our parenting journey together.

As our family has grown, so has her commitment to it, as well as her capacity for selfless love for our children.

Over the years she has never tired of the labours involved in the raising of our children, and still rejoices in the simplest of life's little pleasures.

She has also always done what she can to beautify our home and our yard with flowers that have mostly been enjoyed by the people who have moved in after we have moved on.

She has also been a great teacher for our children, helping them to know what they should do and how they should act.

Her organization keeps our home functioning properly, in spite of her husband who always seems to be a step behind.

I also need to mention the fact that she can still wear the same skirt she wore on her first mother's day. That is quite an achievement.

Above all I need to thank her for being such a great mother to my children and taking such great care of me. What a woman! I love her for all she does and more for all she is. She is my friend, my support and my greatest source of joy. She's also hilarious and makes me laugh every day. She is the greatest joy in my life and makes me feel a better person every day I spend with her.

Guess Who's Crawling?

She's been "army' crawling for a few weeks now, but just last night, we were at my parents' house and my dad put her down on her hands and knees, and away she went! She can now crawl on all fours. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn.

The Calgary Temple Site

The ground breaking for the Calgary Temple will be next weekend. This weekend, our Primary had all of the kids go up to the site where the Temple will be built. They each picked out a rock from the ground, and then the Bishop talked to the kids about the Temple. It was a really simple activity, but so great. It was nice to see where the Temple will be. It is nice to be here for this, and I look forward to watching it get built. I was there for the Edmonton Temple dedication and open house, and it was a great experience. I am glad the girls will get to experience this.

This is where the Temple will go, on top of that hill:

This is the view from on top of the hill. You can't really see in this photo, but the mountains are just beautiful.

You can also see C.O.P. and the ski jumps! It is hard to tell from the photo, it was so bright!

Some of the kids just playing...



The Stake center beside the site. I think it is called the Calgary North Stake, but I am not 100% sure.

Here are Izzy and Chloe with their rocks. It was so cold up there that day!

The Primary

Crafts

One of the girls' favourite past time is arts and crafts. It will keep them entertained for hours. Cutting, gluing, building, colouring, painting, anything crafty! It always leaves a huge mess, but I just don't care about that. Besides, that is a great opportunity to get them to clean up after themselves and help organize the craft bin and cupboard. They love all sorts of crafts, really structured and detailed, to just cutting out ads in the fliers and gluing them to paper. Here are some photos of them doing some crafts over the past several months....

I've Lost 20+ Lbs and Can't Find Them Anywhere

So after I had Olivia last August, the baby weight just wasn't coming off. With all 3 of the other girls it did, but not this time. In fact, it seemed like I was getting heavier with each passing month. Here is a photo of me at Christmas time, at my heaviest ever....

Oh man! I am so reluctant to even put this photo on!!!!! But there is a definite improvement.

Starting in January, I have been really diligent with what I eat, how much I eat, and when I eat. For example, I no longer eat after the kids go to bed. I also have been frequenting the YMCA a lot and using the workout equipment quite regularly. I am so happy to report that I have gone down about 25-30 pounds and feel great. My clothes are fitting again, I have energy again, and I just feel better. Here are some photos of me that were taken a couple of days ago....

TGIF

1. The girls have fallen in love with My Little Pony's all over again, they've been playing with them for days!
2. Olivia's spots completely disappeared.
3. Lily's spots are disappearing.
4. I found my favourite pair of jeans online, on sale, for 30% off.
5. The fun of quoting movie lines.

Celebrity Look Alike

Its funny because people always mistake him for Barack Obama....


Ricki Lake? That made us chuckle....


Who is Norkys Batista anyway?


Just wasting time, and having a few laughs.