Cute Isabel

I have found that Isabel is very open with her days and her experiences. This morning when I was doing her hair I asked how her day went yesterday. She informed me that she had gone on a field trip. I was a little surprised. I asked her where she went. Isabel replied, "Down the hall to find some buttons." So cute!!! I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she said lunch. I asked her who she sat by and she replied, "Melaya". Then holding up her two hands and making the quote, unquote signs she said, " I have a lot of "friends"'. She cracks me up that girl.

First Day Experiences

The kids had a great time at school. We practiced typing in their school id #'s with Isabel and Annika. I wanted the lunch experience to be as stress free as possible. Isabel told me she typed the numbers without even looking. Isabel also informed me that her teachers likes this other girls cuz her mom is friends with her Teacher. She was a little upset about that. And then she continued to tell me how her friend is liked 5 minutes away and she is only liked 3 minutes. I have no idea what that meant, but she was so serious.
Hannah kept calling Mrs. Loftin, Mrs. Jurkatis. Which was her teacher from last year. Hannah really likes her new teacher and thinks she is really nice. She told me about all the similiarities between her new classroom, and the old one from last year.
The first thing that Jaren said when he walked into the house was, " MR. B IS SO AWESOME!!!" He also told me this morning that Mr. Bradford likes everything that he does. He likes the Eagles, and so does Mr. B. Jaren likes sharks, BYU Football, and the Jazz, and so does Mr. B. I hope Jaren has a great time learning from Mr. Bradford.
Annika, sweet thing. Everything went just fine. She didn't have much to say. She does like her teacher and had a good time at lunch.
As for me, I had a great time at lunch with a bunch of other Mom's. Beckham was Mr. Chatterbox and couldn't get enough of conversations with me. He built legos and watched Wonder Pets. I'm not sure how I'm going to keep that kid entertained. Right now I feel like I have a ton of time, and not too many activities to fill that time. But I am enjoying a quiet house and taking my time to clean things up.

First Day of School

Well, my life changed forever today. This is the day that Jaren, Hannah, Isabel and Annika all went to school all day. Now I am home alone from 8:45am till 3:20pm. And it's just me and Beckham. Grandma Penny asked him what he was going to do with Mom all day long. And he said, " Play Legos ". It was really cute. All the kids were up by 6:30am, showered and bathed themsleves and were completey ready by 7:45am. Do you think they were a little excited? Brent asked me what I was going to do with all my time. I shrugged and didn't know what to say. Then he said, " The house is going to be spotless" . Maybe in a perfect world it would be. But I'm sure the house will be better under control. Still, what an exciting time for me, and the kids.

Life of a Mother

Someone commented to me today that I have a ton of kids. And when this same woman found out I was having another one her response was, "your nuts". As true as that comment might be, I cannot deny that this is what I have chosen to do with my life. The life of a mother is not easy. It is full of ups and downs, tears and boogers, joy and pain. But I wouldn't change my life for anything. At times I might seem overwhelmed and want to give up. But I know this is my calling and what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. And He ultimately gives me the strength to make it day to day.

Field Trip

This summer has been rough for the kids. Having a Mom that's been sick and not up to doing anything. So today, I decided to take the kids to Provo. We had lunch with Grandma Penny. Then we went to the Provo Temple and took some fun pictures there. After the Temple we toured the Bean Museum and the Dino Museum. Jaren had a lot of fun taking pictures. It was a great day. Hannah said this on the way home, " This is the best day of the entire summer." Just what a tired Mom needed to hear.

Flashback Friday

I am stealing an idea from my sister-in-law Kelli who stole the idea from her cousin. But I loved the idea a ton. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It's called Flashback Friday. I've been doing a lot of flashbacking lately. But it's still a great idea.

I was looking at pictures from last summer during dinner at the Park. Brent doesn't like to take pictures so when he does pose for a short moment, I cherish it. Here is a picture of Brent and I. It's amazing to me that we've been married for 11 and half years and will have 6 children. I truely believe that we got together due to divine intervention. I couldn't imagine my life with anyone else but him. He is such a sorce of strength, comfort and laughter. I've grown to love and appreciate him more each day. The other pictures are pictures taken during our Cruise in 2002.

Garden Harvest

These are pictures from my garden about 2 years ago. There was some funky squash that came from the garden that year. Hannah picked one up and just stared to model with it. If I remember correctly, she picked it because it looked like a snake. It was so much fun to take pictures of her modeling the strange squash. And I just had to throw in a picture of Beckham. He is so adorable, as are all my kids.

School Days

As the new school year is quickly coming upon us, I wanted to share past "First Day" pictures with you. It's such a milestone when kids start school for the first time. Some mothers have a hard time letting go. But I think it's a wonderful time for kids to learn and grow and figure out who they are. With some guidance from Mom and Dad of course.

Forbidden Food Fun

Didn't your Mom ever tell you "not to play with your food"? Brent is hilarious. At the dinner table he started to throw grapes into his mouth. Then he turned it into a game. He wanted to see how many grapes he could catch in his mouth. He ended up catching 15 grapes. What a mouth on him. The kids weren't quite sure what to think. They didn't know if it was okay to laugh or cheer. It's so fun to throw the kids off with a little bit of forbidden fun.

Visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmann

This past spring Great Grandma Edith and Grandpa Dale visited with Aunt Mary. It was so great to have them come to Utah for a visit. And as painful as it was, it was great to document their time here with a few pictures.

How lucky my kids are to be able to have their picture taken with both sets of Great Grandparents on Brent's side of the family. Not many kids can say they've done this.

The kids with Great Grandma. Isabel(broken arm) and Annika in Grandma's lap, Jaren, Hannah and Beckham behind her.

Brent with Grandpa Hoffmann. These two don't look anything like each other!!!

Here Hannah is showing off her reading talents to Grandma Edith, her namesake.

Tulip Fest '07

Aunt Kelli and I took the girls to Thanksgiving Point for their Annual Tulip Festival. We had a wonderful time posing, walking, romping, hiding and smelling the flowers. We hope to make this a yearly tradition.

Broken Arm

This by far has been the most traumatic experience for me as a mother. Seeing Isabel's disformed arm, and not knowing what to do for her was a scary moment. The first phone call wasn't to Brent. It was to my neighbor, Ed, who I new was home and who is a nurse. He ran right over. The second call was to Brent. He told me to go to the payson hospital. I told him I didn't know how to get there. His response, " Yes you do!!!" "No I don't" " Yes you do..." He continued to give me directions. Luckily, Ed drove us to the hospital. In the car Isabel was comforting me by saying, "mom, I'll be okay." On the way there, Brent was waiting on the side of the road to help guide me. When we arrived at the hospital Brent, Cory and Sean gave Isabel a blessing. Isabel was amazing. Not once did she cry. Not when she got the I.V. or the x-ray. I was so proud of her.
Isabel's broken arm didn't slow her down at all. In Kindergarten she taught herself how to write with her left hand, and did an incredible job. She wrote and illustrated a whole book by herself. She ended up having to have two casts for a total of 8 weeks. She performed in her last dance recital with a bright green cast on. It was adorable.

Summer Fun

At the pool Beckham was getting a little restless. So I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures. Beckham is quite the ham and loves the camera just as much as his sisters. He is nothing like Jaren and Brent. Both those boys loath the camera and do anything to get away from it. The pictures of me are not flattering. But I needed to share them since they were taken by Beckham.

Changing Moments

August 4th, 2007



This saturday Hannah was baptized. I never know how an ivent is going to effect me. This one was very emotional. Our assignment during the program was a musical number. Our family doesn't sing. But I thought, primary songs are easy, and the kids love to sing. So we practiced every night for a week up until Saturday. My voice was shacky, but the girls' were amazing. Hannah sang the second verse of "When I am Baptized" by herself. Still dripping wet, these are the words of that verse, " I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away. And I can be forgiven and imporove myself each day..." We joined her for the chorus, only I couldn't. It was so sweet and spiritual. I am grateful for these sweet children who choose to improve their lives and be examples to those of us who have paved the way for them. They are continuous reminders that we can improve every day, if we choose to.