Spotlighting Hunter

A lot has happened in Hunters life since the end of October..... Here is the lastest... He gets baptized!!!! Doesn't he look sharp?
He was so happy all day---he knew it was a very special day.
Many loved ones came to share this special day with us! Oh, and he turned turned eight on the 30th (and was baptized the next day on Halloween!) Hunter and Gabe got in a big leave war! We all had soooo much fun! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Chariton who helped rake our mountains of leaves!! We love you guys!

Hunter's very first piano recital! He was fabulous. We were so proud of him!

Hunter is such a good kid! Truly we are soooo grateful he is in our family! He is such a good helper to me and is a fantastic big brother to all his siblings. He and Jenna are the bestest friends and are so fun (and funny) together! He loves reading, piano, basketball, scouts, wresting with his dad, anything related to life-science, playing games and watching movies as a family. He really wants a bearded dragon that he's been saving up for for a long time! I love you HUNTER!

FAMILY PICTURES!

We just got our family pictures done and I had a hard time picking just a few...so here they are. We sure had fun and I think the kids did pretty well :)

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Simplicity

I am just now beginning to figure out that the best things in life are the simple things. For example...For Gabe's and my date on Friday night, we went over to Scera Park and played frisbee and Kubb! It was honestly one of the best dates we've had in a very long time! Not only did we have that time to just visit and laugh, but it didn't cost us one cent! And to top it off the Scera outdoor theater that night was Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band (one of my faves!) Let me share some more examples of my favorite simple things...my childrens kisses, taking family walks, swinging, blowing bubbles, smelling flowers, painted toenails, holding hands, chocolate, playing games with Gabe, laughter, rain, a good nights sleep (not simple but VERY nice!), Cannon's smile, singing, making cupcakes with Ember and my list could go on and on. Its taking me a while but I am learning to not crowd and complicate my life, but rather step back, watch, listen, not get all worked up over "spilled milk" and to just keep it simple!

Milestones...

Milestone #1---Hunter started 2nd grade and Jenna started 1st grade last week! Its crazy that Jenna is gone all day too now. What a long day for such a little girl! Hunter and Jenna eat lunch together every day. It makes me so happy that Hunter takes good care of his sister while they are away. I am really enjoying the time I have to spend with Cannon and Ember. They are so much FUN!


Milestone #2---Cannon is officially a walker! Sooooo Fun! Its so cute to see him walk. He's been taking steps for a couple weeks now, but now he prefers walking to crawing! They grow up wayyyyyy too fast!

Milestone #3---Gabe is back in school too! He started at UVU on Wednesday. I am so happy for him.
The other photo I posted is of Gabe taking the kids to their beds last night. They always have so much fun with him. It feels good to blog again. I will do better at posting more regularly! :)

Spotlighting Ember!

Ember and I have a game we play often. Its the "what was your favorite part of the day?" game. She normally initiates this game. So she asked me today and I told her that my favorite part was taking her to the pet store. She then replies, "oh mom, thanks. You're the best mom ever!" now, mind you, she's not telling me thank you because I took her to the pet store, but because I told her that doing something with HER was my favorite part. She sure knows how to boost my ego. She sure puts a smile (or laugh) on my face too! A little bit ago, we had our lawn aerated. She sees all these little dirt clumps on our grass and starts to "fix" it by putting the clumps back in the wholes! (I guess that pretty much defeats the purpose of the aeration!) Her favorite things in the whole world are making Cannon laugh, CANDY, riding her tricycle, playing little games on the computer, and making cookies with me. We make cookies about once a week and she's getting to be quite the chef! She really loves "our time" (she actually calls it "me and us" time)---when Jenna and Hunter are in school and Cannon is napping. She loves to create things and is so much fun! I love you Ember!

My beautiful mommy!

(just thought i'd stick this one in from my last post.)

The latest Chariton happenings

Here's the latest in the Chariton home... 2 weeks ago, I packed up me and my four little ones in the car and drove to Phoenix to visit my sister-in-law, Jessica. The drive went surprisingly well (thanks to Honda for putting a DVD player in!) We only stopped ONE time the whole way down! It truly was a miracle. On Thursday (I had been there 4 days), Gabe flies in and completely surprises me. I had NO clue he was coming. He told me there was no way he could. It was so fun having him out there. We went to a way fun childrens museum, hung out at Jess' pool, had a fun birthday party for Jarom, went on some fun walks, enjoyed the sunshine and then packed up in the car again for our trip home. This time, thankfully, Gabe was able to drive and so I could tend to the kids. Thanks hun for the fun surprise!
What else? Oh yes... My mom just graduated from BYU! It was neat to see her walk and get her diploma. She has worked so hard and graduated with honors! Way to go mom!
The latest news, which I have mixed feelings about, is that Cannon is totally crawling now!!! Time to put the gate up on the stairs! Its so cute to see him crawl to something he wants. He's getting big way too fast!!! He is such a good baby. I'll post pics of the crawler and other happenings next time.

Videos of my kiddos!

I thought these were so fun! Apparently eating is pretty funny when your mom is trying to feed you and record you at the same time!

The kids were hilarious with their band! Listen carefully to Hunter. At the end he says, "too much racket!" Kids are so funny!

PHOTO UPDATE!

Its been a while since I've posted any pics because I lost my camera dock and usb cord, but since they're found, here's a little bit about us and what we've been up to via some pictures....


Ember's Birthday Party! 3 years old!

Some of you were wondering what my dark do looks like...

I wish I had his perfect skin!

GO JAZZ!!!!!

I walked in on this precious scene---Jenna reading to Cannon!

My family playing in the snow on Valentines Day!

Is it okay to say how darling I think he is!!!!

At the Bean Museum-- Cannon obviously has no clue he's about to be eaten by a hippo!!

Our friends, the Cliffords came for a fun visit!

my babies!

GIVEAWAY!!!!

My first giveaway! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For YOU! I saw this on a blog and I thought, "humm, in my attempt at being a better person, why not do a little service for friends and loved ones." This is going to be fun and I can't wait to start some new projects. It must be something to do with spring because once the sun comes out I all of the sudden get this huge urge to take on tons of new projects. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations: 1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! 2. What I create will be just for you. 3. It'll be done this year. Hopefully sooner than later. 4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be sewn, painted, written, scrapbooky, or be something totally random that I come up with on a whim. I may even bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! 5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Let's spread some love! So, the first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they are doing it too win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! (I know...that could either be cool or scary) Who knows! :)Be sure to post pictures of what you won when you recieve it! :) I thought this sounded like a pretty neat idea!

Accomplishments

Today I realized that its much better to focus on the things I can do and have done rather than the opposite. For example today I made mac'n'cheese start to finish while nursing Cannon! It might not be as grand as writing a novel, but for me, it was something grand at the moment! As for Gabe---he has literally beat me at Chinese Checkers in at least the last twenty games that we've played! (why do I even bother anymore?) And Hunter made 3 baskets (standard height) today at ball practice! I was so proud of him! He has also moved on to his own room in the basement now. Jenna is now the proud rider of a two wheeler. She has been practicing the last little bit and is now getting it. And for Ember she can reach the pedals on her new tricycle and is really cruising! She also sings "You Are My Sunshine" adorably!! Cannon has recently discovered the joy of finding his feet and realizes that they are connected to him so he can play with them anytime he wants now---so cute!!! He also is working on re-learning the amazing accomplishment of sleeping through the night!!! These may not all be great achievements for everyone, but its sure fun to see how we all grow and progress and focus on the things we can do!

"I love you" just because

I've realized lately that my little kids are growing too fast--but this has also helped me remember how precious this time with them is. Hunter is reading The Book of Mormon every night before bed (thanks to Primary) and he's understanding it! He is such a good brother to his younger siblings. Jenna watches EVERYTHING I do and mimics me. This helps me take a good look at myself as I consider who I see her as and who I see her becoming. I did have a sad realization the other day. Hunter and Jenna were playing play-doh at the table and I looked at them and said "I love you" and Jenna looks up and says "where are you going?" to which I responded, "Nowhere. Can't a mom tell her kids she loves them just because, not only when she's leaving the house?" I guess I could do a better job at telling them I love them more!
Ember will be three on Sunday. She is a delight. She'd sit by my side and have me read her books all day if I could. She also loves to bake cookies with me. Cannon is 5 months old and is so well natured. He forgot how to sleep throught the night however! I've just started him on a few solids and he's loving that. Gabe is BUSY with work and it's going really well for him. He's just getting ready to kick off for the summer. As for me, I'm good. I've been tired lately, probably due to Cannon's sleepless nights. I did get out last night though. At dinner last night, Gabe suggested that I take some time just for me. I happily took the opportunity and headed to the mall. :) I left around 7:30 and when I came back about two hours later, Gabe had all the kids sound asleep--including Cannon! And I came back with a few fantastic bargains and a big smile!
Thanks Gabe.

I fall down but I get up again!

It has been quite an adventure since my last post. Aside from the usual holiday scene, I got my cast off (YEA!!!), we drove off a cliff on Christmas night and totalled our car (not good!), turned another year older, had a case of shingles, took a nasty fall down the stairs holding Cannon, turned my hair brown and cut bangs, and I think that pretty much sums up most of my life lately. I have recooperated well and things are going rather swimmingly at the moment. I really have nothing to complain about. My kids are awesome. Cannon is growing sooooo fast! I'll post some pics of the new me later.

My little munchkins in the morning

Cannon and his cousin Kate