My New Niece!!

Nothing big and exciting has been going on in the Morrill household but something big and exciting went on in my little sister's household!!!!  Well, technically the hospital.  THIS LITTLE GIRL JOINED OUR FAMILY...

Welcome to the family Emma Lynn Owen!!!  She was two weeks early and weighs a whopping 5lbs 13oz!  The delivery went quick and smooth and Linds and Emma are both doing great.  Here's her big brother giving her kisses...

The proud Grandma who has been waiting nine years for another granddaughter!!

Oh my preciousness...

No words, she's just too stinkin cute...

I am so excited for Linds and Jason and cannot WAIT to meet her when I go to Utah in April.  It was very hard for me not to catch the first flight outta here and head to Utah so she can meet her favorite aunt, but I will patiently wait my turn.  :)

Other less exciting things...I thought the sky looked super cool this night...

The boys have been having lots of fun with our neighbor friend Adam.  He's a year and a half older than the twins but they all get along great.  This day they, and another neighbor friend also named Adam, decided to play music on the corner and see if they got any money.  They made $2 and were thrilled!!! 

Movie day with Adam, Adam, and Luke...

Tyce and Luke...

Lunch with Adam and Leah...

We took advantage of a beautiful warm day and took the kids to the park.  Lori and I chatted while the boys played for almost four hours.  They found some caution tape and decided to turn themselves into the Caution Army.  Very cool and very creative...

Then we went to dinner and ice cream...

Seriously could these two be any cuter??  Tyce insists on marrying Leah but she's made it very clear she is NOT getting married until she's 18.  Haha, Tyce is patiently waiting for her to return his affection.  In the meantime, he talks daily about his marriage plans including what car he's going to buy for Leah, what house they will live in (the new townhomes being built behind Traci's house because then Leah can still be close to her mommy), how he will propose ("I will give Leah a shiny bracelet, I will get down on my knees and tell her how much I love her, and she'll say no...because she wants to wait until we're older.")  Hahaha.  He also told Parker that after he marries Leah he's going to work really hard every day at work so Leah can stay home, go to the gym, and take naps.  HAHAHA!!  He also told me how Leah won't kiss him.  "Mommy even when I try kissing her in the basement when Traci can't see me she STILL won't kiss me!"  Oh my goodness...

More fun with Leah and Sarah.  These three get along SO well and I love listening to them play.  They usually play "family" or barbies or my little ponies, I tease Traci that her daughters are emasculating my son!

Warming up by the fire on a cold winter night...

One morning I came downstairs and Jack and Tyce had organized our coat closet with all their guns and swords and shields (and, with three boys, we have a LOT!).  They were so proud to surprise me...

Parker has been crazy crazy crazy busy at work.  He worked 90 hours last week and this week might be more.  He works all day and all night averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night.  We miss him a LOT but are so proud and grateful that he is working so hard to provide for our family.  He did get a raise this month which he sure earned and deserved!!!  He does try to find time for basketball, both playing and coaching.  Here he is at one of his games at the church.  I LOVE watching him play, he's still got it even though he's an old, out of shape, used to be star athlete turned attorney who sits at a desk all day.  :) 

Some nights he makes it home before the boys go to bed and, before going back to work, he can do story time...

Josh used to be my least affectionate child by FAR.  Lately he's been super cuddly with me and I LOVE it!

We've had a million snow days lately, or cold days, or rain days, or ice days, or there's a 10% chance of snow so let's cancel school days.  People out here are so weird when it comes to bad weather.  Apparently the DC area is not equipped to handle snow, rain, ice, cold, etc so everything shuts down.  Anyways, the twins school district is small so they're usually the last to close.  Tyce's preschool goes by the county schedule and they ALWAYS close so one day he was super sad he didn't get to go to school so I took him on a lunch date to Firehouse Subs, he cheered up quickly!!! 

The twins are playing basketball again this year through the rec center and Parker is their coach.  They're having fun and doing well.  Jackson is a defensive star and Josh is great on offense.  He scored 12 of the team's 23 points last week!  I haven't taken any pics during their games because a) they always turn out blurry because they're moving so fast ;)  and b) let's face it, I get really into the games and am an awesome cheerleader and totally don't want to sit down and take pictures.  ;)

Lastly, this is just too cute not to post.  They sleep together every night and it's adorable.  Heaven help us if Brody ever dies...

AND I'M ALL CAUGHT UP!!!  Let's see...things we're looking forward to...my dad comes for a night this month, my best friend from high school Jo and her husband come for a night this month as well.  Both my parents come in March.  Then in April the boys and I are going to Utah to see baby Emma!!!  Equally exciting, my mom is keeping the boys in Utah for Spring Break while I fly home for...six days...at home...alone...with no kids!!!  :) 

The Best Strawberries

A few weeks ago I was cutting up strawberries for dinner for my family.  I set out five bowls and wash, cut, and sliced strawberries for everyone.  Inevitably when you buy a carton of strawberries there are some really delicious ones (red, juicy, perfect size, etc) and there are some less desirable ones (white and hard or dark red and squishy) that have been packed in the middle so you couldn't see them when you were selecting your carton at the store.  Ever since I can remember I make sure to give the best strawberries to the boys and especially to Parker, leaving the not so great ones for me.  I have always done this without really thinking about it.  Well this time I decided that I was going to give myself  the best strawberries.  I had a whole bowl of perfect strawberries and they were delicious.  Since then, I've felt horribly guilty. 

It has consumed my thoughts for an absurdly long time because, really Jenn, this is not that big of a deal!  Parker and the boys didn't even notice that their strawberries weren't the best!  I felt guilty for a long time. I felt selfish.  I felt like a bad wife. 

Then I convinced myself that it was OK that I get the best strawberries!  I went to the grocery store to buy them.  I washed, cut, and sliced them.  I made dinner.  I take care of the kids pretty much by myself Monday through Friday week after week.  I deserve them. 

But if I deserve them then what does that say about my husband?  Does he not  deserve them?  The best marriage advice I ever received was from my dad about a month before we got married.  He told me the secret to a happy marriage, here you go...you ready??  Love Parker like he wants to be loved, not the way that you want to love him.  Always put Parker and his needs first.  If he does the same, you will spend your whole life making each other happy.  It sounds so simple but it is profound.  Everyone shows love and wants to receive love in different ways.  As you can read in the book The Five Love Languages, some people need words of affirmation, some need gifts, some need quality time, some need service, and some need physical touch.  It is easy to love someone the way you are comfortable.  It is much more of a challenge to love someone the way they want to be loved, especially if it is out of your comfort zone.  I look back on my ten years of marriage and I can think of times where I was really loving him as he wants.  Lately, I don't feel like I've been doing a very good job and I feel like the strawberries were symbolic of that.  I have not been giving him the best of me, I've become complacent, I've become selfish.   

The past week and a half here has been very cold outside.  Parker has also gotten extremely busy at work so he's been going in earlier, coming home later, and staying up late to work at home.  Due to cold and snow, school keeps getting cancelled so the boys and I have been sleeping in.  Without saying a word, without uttering a complaint, Parker has been getting up early and walking through the snow, in his work clothes, in the freezing cold, to the train because he didn't want to wake me and have me drive him.  The other day I happened to wake up as he was leaving, I looked out the window and saw my exhausted, sexy, hard working, freezing cold, unbelievably amazing man walking through the snow and ice to the train, for his hour commute, so he can begin his long work day so he can provide for his family.  I nearly broke down in tears.  Here he is, doing all this, and I can't even give him the best strawberries.  My husband deserves the best strawberries.  He deserves the best of everything.  He deserves all the love I can give.  He deserves nothing less.  It is not hard to love Parker, he makes it so easy.  He expects so little of me but gives so much in return.  I feel a sense of recommitment to making my marriage better, to showing my husband that he deserves the best and I will give him the best. 

I love you babe, forever and always...through the ups and the downs...and I will always, always, always, give you the best strawberries...until the day I die.  :)

Disney Cruise Part 5

More pics from pirate night...

Jackie and I enjoying some sun while the kids were in the kids room...

They watched Frozen 3D...

 A couple pics from Mexico...

Superhero cousins!!!

This was Uncle Tyler explaining to the boys about the merchants in Mexico and how to steer clear of them.  This was after they had all gotten bracelets with their names on them without the adults even knowing.  All the adults were talking to someone about getting a tour lined up and in the meantime this scammer jerk Mexican guy made each kid a bracelet, tied it around their wrists, then wanted us to pay TWELVE DOLLARS FOR EACH BRACELET!  Hahaha.  Jackie offered $2/bracelet.  After much back and forth we finally settled on $22 for 5 bracelets, but I was annoyed at the guy. 

I think this was at the beginning of the trip, riding from the hotel to the ship...

Auntie Tegan and her adorable nephews...

When they first got on the ship...

 This was in the Grand Caymans..

The morning we left was a sad and exhausting day.  We had to be at breakfast by 7am and off the boat by 8:30am.  The kids were all so tired but were actually really good sports about it all.  We got off the boat, took a taxi to the airport, flew home (under two hour flight...shortest flight my kids have ever done!), and were unpacked before everyone else had even left the airport!  Poor Morrills and Petersens had much longer travel days...this was the first time ever that it's paid off to live on the EAST coast!!!!

 

Tyce was too cute on the plane, he curled up with his clubhouse friends and crashed...

Since I wouldn't let him bring ALL his clubhouse friends on the cruise when he came home he was SO excited for them all to be together.  He woke up asking to watch Mickey Mouse with all his clubhouse friends, needless to say, I could NOT say no...

AND I'M ALL CAUGHT UP!!!!  It was a fabulous trip, one we will never forget.  Thanks so much Bart and Michelle for making it happen!!!!  We love you!!!!