What a Helper

Who needs a mop when you have a Ben??



He may be a walking disaster waiting to happen, but hey, at least he's willing to do what he can to clean things up!

It's Great to Be Eight

Maddy has reached that special age of 8, when she was finally able to be baptized. She had such a fun weekend. Party, party, party around here!

There was the friend party (little girls LOVE to squeal, scream, and make lots of noise in general, you know!)



Then there was the baptism. What a little darling she is!


(Aren't family pictures fun?!)


And then there was party number 2 with family and friends after the baptism, complete with a deluxe cake definitely NOT made by me! A friend of Brek's offered to make a cake for Maddy, and we were absolutely amazed when we saw it! Much cuter than the Costco cake I planned to buy.


It was a very fun weekend, and I was completely exhausted by the time it was over! But, hey, how often do you turn 8, right?



We sure love our little Maddy and her delightful way of looking at life. One word comes to mind when I think of Maddy. JOY!

Final Countdown

12 days and counting!

The waiting is almost over! Yeah! Soon I won't be plagued by pants that always feel like they are falling down, a sore back, and discomfort in general.

Soon we will be joined by the newest member of the Pilling family! We can hardly wait to meet him!

Not Alone

Stress. It is an awful thing.

How do you cope with stress?

I have learned that when stressful situations come my way, I have a hard time getting them off my mind. Sleep is hard to come by, as I can't seem to make my mind quit thinking through the situation. I try to do things to distract myself, which can work for a while, but underneath it all, the problem still lies. I feel restless until some sort of a solution or conclusion can be found.

Last night was one of those such nights. Yesterday it was brought to my attention that one of my children was being treated unjustly....by an adult AND a teacher, no less. SO frustrating! Sometimes I wonder what people could possibly be thinking. Anyway, I won't go into detail, but let me just say I was stressed. I was angered by the injustice. I felt I needed to address the problem, which just added MORE stress.

Because now enters confrontation. Not my favorite thing. But something I am willing to do if need be.

All night I tossed and turned, thinking, pondering, wondering, etc. Do you ever feel like you have so many thoughts going on in your head, you won't possibly be able to convey them clearly? Well, that is how I felt. Again and again, I thought through things, trying to really pinpoint the thoughts I felt needed to be shared.

And most of all, I prayed. I prayed last night, this morning....and regularly throughout the morning. I felt nervous and sick to my stomach, and as the hour drew near, those feelings just intensified. Sometimes, when lack of sleep and nerves come into play, I am also prone to tears....especially when I am pregnant! And that is something I didn't want, either.

So, I entered the lion's den, armed with my own thoughts and more importantly with a strength that was not my own. My nerves were settled, my thoughts felt clear, and regardless of the outcome, I felt at peace when I left. I can't control the thoughts and actions of others, but I felt that I had said what I needed to say.

And not one tear. I felt very in control of my emotions.

I don't think this is an end to the problem. Perhaps it is just the beginning. But nonetheless, I left feeling very grateful to my Heavenly Father who I know hears and answers my prayers. I will put my trust in Him and He will guide me.

The Little Things

Today is Sunday.

Sunday, for me, is not exactly a day of rest. Trying to fulfill my church callings, which include teaching a YW lesson and directing the choir, getting all the kids ready and to church, surviving sacrament meeting with Ben, meetings, and of course the usual of feeding everyone, cleaning the kitchen again and again, trying to find things to keep the kids occupied during the long Sunday afternoon, etc.

But at the end of the day, my little Luke helped me to remember why I love being a mom, despite the exhaustion. And why I am so happy to be bringing another little guy into our home, even though I know it will make life even more crazy.

At the end of the day, when everything finally slowed down, everybody sat down to watch the Olympics together. I went into my room for something and Luke followed me in.

From behind me, I heard, "Mom, will you come snuggle me?"

Those few simple words melted my heart. There is nothing that could compare with being a mom. I ask you, where else do you get such rewards?




P.S. I have a confession to make. Until two days ago, I had NO idea that the Olympics were even happening. How's that for being out of the loop?

Where did Ben go?

Did you know that when a 2 year old closes their eyes really tight, they become invisible?

At least, that's what they think!

Today Ben came down the stairs with two markers....minus the lids. Not a good sign. I asked him to please show me where he had found the markers. Knowing he had been caught red-handed, and there was really no escape, he s-l-o-w-l-y led me up the stairs.

With his eyes shut tight.

He would squint every now and then to make sure he was headed in the right direction, but chose to remain "invisible" for the most part. I was led to a total disaster involving Maddy's art supplies which he had discovered. No wonder he wanted to become invisible!

Little monster.

Or should I say, FUNNY little monster.

The latest and greatest events that make up our crazy life

Soooo......it's been a while. OK, it's been a really LONG while!

I will not bore you with extensive detail as to craziness of my life over the past few months....just give a quick overview.

First, there was Christmas. Need I say more? Sometimes I feel more on top of my game during the whole Christmas season. But this year.....not so much. It felt more like a matter of survival, just hoping I could fit it all in! Don't get me wrong. Christmas was wonderful. But trying to help my kids learn to serve others, helping them "do" things for others, well....it's a lot of work.

I forgot to take my camera, well, almost everywhere. No pictures of our outing to find the perfect Christmas tree (a story in and of itself....one I will perhaps share on another day when I have nothing else to say). No pictures of Christmas Eve with my kids all dressed up in amazing costumes made by their Grandma Darla.

The highlight, as usual was our Christmas Eve gift exchange. We all draw names and then make a gift instead of buying one. These gifts are opened Christmas Eve. The gifts this year included flowers for the hair, cute watches, a couple of "fuzzy" body pillows, a fleece BYU blanket, a golden back scratcher, rubber band guns, and a knitted hat. Everyone was so excited to GIVE their gifts they had worked so hard on. And everybody was so grateful to receive their gifts that had been so lovingly made. It is a lot of work (especially for me) to make sure everyone's gifts get finished, but it truly is one of our very favorite things we do. So worth the effort!!!






(Luke and Ben got a jeep for Christmas, which was a big hit. That, along with Ben's fleecy hat and gloves were his faves. He is a big fan of anything soft and fleecy.)


Only a few days after the kids headed back to school, Brek and I left to spend a week in sunny St. Kitts. It was a little crazy preparing to leave just three days after the Christmas decorations had come down! But we had a great time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful sunshine. I'm sure glad I dragged my camera all the way there and back since we took it out once! Oh well, I guess that's better than nothing, right?





THEN....upon our arrival home, we were immediately immersed in Joseph rehearsals. What's that, you may ask? Our town was putting on a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and they had asked Brek to be the Pharoah. My girls were also involved, being in the children's choir.

Brek was nervous as could be....not so much about the singing, but about the dancing! He's not exactly a loose, hip-swinging Elvis kind of guy. Finally, after many frustrating attempts on his part to "loosen up", I suggested we call Lana. And that did the trick. By the time performance week came, he felt much more at ease and had such a great time. He was the hit of the show! I was so proud of him! He was HILARIOUS!

He had people asking him for his autograph, and girls sitting on the front row cheering and screaming....too funny! The entire play was fantastic. They did an amazing job! It was a long month for my girls, but so worth it. What a great experience to be a part of something like that, especially getting to do it with their dad. At the end of their final performance when Brek came out, he gave Syd and Maddy each a bunch of flowers and told them to pass one out to each of the kids in the choir. Then, to my great surprise, he called me up on stage and gave me a dozen roses! I bet all those screaming fans were oh so jealous! Because Elvis is mine! I love that guy!!

Brek's makeup, wig, and costume were quite a sight! He got quite the "royal" treatment each night as they colored and glittered him up!




So there you have it. One crazy thing after another.

OK, maybe "quick overview" wasn't quite the right choice of words. But think of it this way. I could have said a LOT more!

Wedding Bells

On the day after Thanksgiving, we headed to Utah for Brek's one and only sister's wedding. It was such a great day! We are SO happy for her! She was married in the beautiful Salt Lake Temple. It was cold, but still a great day!


Kristin is the only girl in a family of seven. She has lots of brothers to look out for her, I guess!










I love this picture of Brek's dad. Doesn't it just shout out JOY?!


I love my little man! Picture time was a long, cold wait for him.

Dance, Dance, Dance

More catch-up.

Syd and Maddy got to be in Hansel and Gretel. Their ballet teacher did a fantastic job and put on a great production. Maddy was a darling little gingerbread cookie who always had a little smile on her face as though she had some hidden secret. And Syd was a town girl, an angel, a deer, and a troll. Her favorite was the troll because she got to do back handsprings. But my favorite was the angel.....so beautiful and graceful. She is such a beautiful little dancer!

The only killer was all the makeup! I am NOT a makeup expert. I actually had to go buy eye shadow, because I didn't even own any. But by the end of the week, I was a regular pro....well, sort of!


Luke is not happy to be getting his picture taken, apparently!

Flashback Week

Soooo....it's been a while.

What can I say. Life is crazy! But on the bright side, my Christmas shopping list is getting much shorter!

My plan is to spend a few days catching up. I know we are all WAY past Halloween, but alas, I must document. So just a quick update.

The older boys weren't much into dressing up this year. But the younger four had a great time. We had two darling witches, a muscle man, and a pirate.

The weather was perfect, which brought out about a jillion trick-or-treaters. We had a great night trick-or-treating, gave away a LOT of candy, and had fun visiting with friends on the porch.




Attack of the pirate boy!
Trick-or-treaters, beware of the crazy pirate swinging a golf club!

Oh yes, and of course we had the traditional night of pumpkin carving.



Goodbye October! See you again next year!