And all that jazz...

Let's just be real honest here, I don't have time to keep this thing up. I mean, I think about it every day; I think about how I'd love to share all my new recipes with you, the perfect bread recipes, how to get the graham crackers to stay crunchy, the homemade laundry soap that is saving me fat cash each month, not to mention the brilliant and hysterical antics of my crew. I could write for hours every day. More than that, and what I really would like to do, is sit down here and spill my guts about how unsteady I feel about our country's future, and how I've never felt more unsure of my children's well-being as US citizens. I'd love to share my heart about how the mercy of God sustains me far beyond what I am capable of doing on my own. I want you to know about how I get up every morning at the crack of dawn and work from sun-up until sun-down without stopping and without ever accomplishing everything I set out to do. It's a real mystery. I want to tell you about Deisha's cough and the wild goose hunt we've been on trying to clear it all up. Today I was thinking about the DJ on the radio and how when she introduced her show it was focused, her tag was "from ballet to Broadway" and how I think if I had a more narrow tag to this, I'd be a lot more prepared to write everyday, barring the time deficit. But also how if I did narrow my focus, I'd need to start another blog so that I could include all the things that I'd be missing out on by focusing. Fortunately for me I know you're a die-hard. I know you'll keep checking just to see if I showed up and it will surprise you to pieces to know that I'm still hanging on. So for you, my loyal reader, here's what's going on in the sweet countryside of the central west coast. Seriously, I am so in love with this guy, I can't even fully express it. How hysterical is this: he was taking a picture of himself in front of the Hollywood sign and his head blocked the whole thing! I am cracking up every time I look at this picture! And what a great picture of that handsome lug!!

This is the new trend in the Sutton house, and it's not just the boys; everyone gets in on the MMA, no gender preference. Everyone that is except for me. I find it necessary to draw very clear lines for my sons in their physical play toward me. Momma don't play 'dat way. Everyone else does: all the siblings, including Leila, the neighborhood kids, random children on the playground at soccer practice. It's a common thread; boys love to fight. They make it look so fun that the girls can't stand to not have a turn. So far no one has come out bloody or broken so I allow it and secretly enjoy it. If you haven't talked to me, I've become a pretty avid UFC fanatic. Watching my sons get their aggression out in this manor thrills me to no end because it curbs real fights in the neighborhood which had become more common than I like to admit.
Our little sweetness sits in this marvelous invention, the Jenny Jump-Up, suspended in the middle of the door frame in the office during school hours and in the kitchen most other hours of the day because it turns out, I spend a good majority of my time in the kitchen. She is content as long as she is in motion so I give her a little push every time I am close to her, which she loves. I have to watch Leila though, because she starts out really sweetly swinging her straight, but if I turn my back for more than a minute, she gives her a yank and sends her spinning. I'm sure in Leila's mind it looks really fun, but I have to chase her away every time. No matter how hard she tries to do it right, she just can't help herself. I can't say I blame her. She's only three... look at the little darlin'. This is her first outfit of the morning every morning. I don't think it's going to make it to Halloween considering how often I have to wash it. On the flip side, she usually only wears it for the first thirty minutes and then hurries off for her next wardrobe change. About the fourth or fifth change of the day she is back in it for another twenty minutes to an hour. It may be her most consistent outfit next to her jammies. The kid loves pajamas. After every bath, no matter what time of day it is, she wants her jammies. I have to give her a landmark in the schedule for when she can put them on. It used to be exasperating, but I am learning to enjoy the quirks of these years.
She held this pose for three of four minutes before I realized she wanted me to take her picture. Everyone else had such an enthusiastic audience in the octagon, well, the hotel room, that she had to find a way to turn the attention her way. I'm usually game.
Yipes! They're huge!!! This is sweet cousin Alexa.
She is the spittin' image of Sarah at this age. It freaks me out every time I see her. Jasmine and Alexa were fast friends, toting around their Webkins and whatever else they could find to nurture. We met up with my brother and his bunch in Anaheim a few weeks ago and I have ached to be closer to them ever since. Same song, second verse. What can I say? I'm a family kinda' gal.

This is my giant nephew Zane holding Deisha. The way he and Micah played, you'd think they saw each other every day, which thrills me to no end because I was always close to my cousins and would be heartbroken if my kids didn't have that with theirs. This is my brother, Uncle Jon, and our newest sweet cousin Stephanie. The night before we left to see them, Leila came in with a picture for "Jon" that she wanted me to save for him. She also wanted to bring her Cinderella dress because she "wan get married to him!" It was so sweet. I thought she'd get shy once we got there, but as soon as we got out of the pool to clean up she said, "Now I can wear my princess dress, get married to Unja Jon?"
We didn't really think about snapping pictures until just before we were ready to leave and we were all hanging out in one room. We should've just ordered out and hung out in the room the whole time because there was so much action, it could've entertained us for hours. We might've gotten the stink eye from our neighbors though, so I guess it was good to get all this energy out into the open air. Stephanie kept leaning over to give Deisha kisses while they were sitting like this, but I didn't catch it. Aren't they precious? I wish we were all going to be together for Christmas... it would be so much fun!

In the past week, my kids have told me on several occasions that they love it when I'm in a good mood. It's been pretty rare for the past-- year and two months. I always forget how much I really do love life when I'm not raging with childbearing hormones. It's great because the further I get away from that miserableness, the more my kids appreciate the good days, so even on my worst days, it's better than it was. Thank You, Lord, for glimpses of the new season ahead!