Payson Temple Open House

We decided to take the kids to the Payson Temple open house since we knew they had never been inside a temple before and it would be great opportunity for them to feel of the spirit and get excited for the day when they were old enough to go inside themselves. Allie was the most excited since she will be 12 next April. (Wait, WHAT??) The other kids really liked it too, except for Benny  who mostly just wanted to run around and scream when we wouldn't let him. We ended up leaving the tour early right after we saw the celestial room because Ben just couldn't take it anymore, but Allie begged me to take some pictures of her before we left. I just love this girl! She is growing up so fast and becoming a young woman. She has a tender heart and I love how her testimony is growing. How did I get so lucky?

Family Retreat

My sister Tina arranged to get a HUGE cabin retreat for our family and all of our cousins to use for a weekend to reconnect. My kids had a BLAST! There was an indoor swimming pool and raquetball and just so much space for them to run around and PLAY ALL DAY. For me, it was just fun seeing them be happy and enjoy themselves. The highlight for me was when Ben discovered the horses. I wish I had a cabin in the country that I could just take all my kids during the summer to get away from all the stresses of life, the neighborhood, and everything else. Alas, we get to just have moments like this amidst our crazy lives. I'm so grateful for family and I'm so grateful for the gospel that connects us all. Where would I would be without my family? I would never want to find out!

"I Awake!"

Hey! Burgi's are back and ready to start posting regularly again! I've been crazy busy helping build a blog with my sisters. It's been so fun and the financial blessings from it have been a blessing to our family. Who knew my niche would be blogging! I love working from home and working with my sisters too! If you haven't checked it out, the blog is called Double the Batch.

This morning, Ben was the first to wake up and start calling my name from his crib. Beau went in to get him and brought him back to our bed in the hopes he would go back to sleep. He said,

"Benny, wanna snuggle with Daddy?" to which Ben replied most emphatically,

"No! I AWAKE!"

This totally cracked both of us up. He has just been learning new words and talking up a storm lately and it's really fun to listen to him express himself. He is also obsessed with wearing shoes the past couple of weeks. It's the first thing he asks for in the morning and he is so sad when I take them off. I think it's because he knows that when everyone puts shoes on, they usually go somewhere and he LOVES going outside the house! Summer is going to be fun trying to keep track of him with kids coming in and out of the house all day.

Summer, summer! What am I gonna do with 4 kids back at home 24/7?! Time for a game plan!

I've been getting really lazy lately and sleeping in. I need to be more like Ben and say, "I awake!" and get more things done in my day. :) Sometimes it's easy to just walk around in a haze and just get the minimum done, but I know Heavenly Father is always patiently waiting (once again) for me to WAKE UP and be about his business. Good thing he's patient, huh?

Getting back to normal

Wow, life is finally starting to get back to normal after 3 months of crazy. Our basement is finally finished and we are loving it. I'm so relieved to finally be living in our WHOLE house instead of half. I thought I would never see an end to the dust and white footprints tracked upstairs constantly, but it's finally gone.(well, except for my food storage room that got covered in concrete dust, but hey, I'm not gonna try and dust off each and every one of those cans, I'm just not gonna!)

Getting ready to paint !

Before

After...family room

Before

My new place to hang out....tub!

Love my bathroom floor that my sister in law, Trish, helped us with. It's tile, but looks like hardwood. Love it!

Before...(yes I know the insulation is in backwards. That's how it was when we bought the house. No clue why)

After...toy room (as you can see, the chalkboard wall is in full use)

New bedroom

  It's so nice to have more space to roam. I feel very blessed. I'm less crazy as a mom and my upstairs isn't as cluttered. I can breathe!

Next project...backyard boot camp! It looks like a jungle back there and my now 15 month old babe wants to play outside all the time now. 

  School is almost out. I'm trying to brace myself for the summer. It always takes us a few weeks to learn how to all live together 24/7 again. I've been  trying to make a summer plan for the kids so we have fun but not get too lazy because that's when chaos ensues, then everyone, gets grumpy, especially me. My kids need routines and fun time with me. I'm not so great with consistency but I'm getting better. I'm learning, even though it's hard, it's the key to our survival around here. Being a mom is a journey, that's for sure. It stretches me to the limits, but I'm a better person for it. I'm sure if Heavenly Father showed me 13 years ago, what I needed to go through and where I needed to be by now, I would have been scared to death. Guess that's why he only lights a few steps at a time for us so we don't get overwhelmed. One moment and one day at a time. Like working a weak muscle, eventually it becomes stronger. Weaknesses become strengths. 

   I'm so grateful to all of my family and friends who helped us get our basement done. It is a huge blessing to our family! My kids are excited too. Now...if I could only get Tyler to stop climbing out of his new bedroom window...

Basement Boot Camp

Wow has life been crazy around here the past 3 weeks! I had a dream one night that we actually finished our basement. I shared it with my husband one day over the phone while he was at work. I said,"Hey! I had a dream last night that we actually finished our basement. Wouldn't that be nice if it were true?" Later that day he called me back and said maybe we SHOULD. he works at a bank and had already looked into financing it. If you know my husband you know that he is the frugal one in our relationship so when I realized he was actually considering this I jumped on board quick. 2 and a half weeks later, we're already putting up sheet rock! It has been crazy!

  See that deep tub in our new bathroom? That was all my doing. I've wanted a tub I could soak in since I was little. Now, after 4 kids and a constantly aching back, I'm finally getting it!! Wahoo! We will also be getting a playroom for the kids, a family room, and a bedroom for Tyler. This couldn't have come at a better time. We need the space so badly. I'm going crazy with the kids underfoot constantly upstairs. I am so grateful and excited for some more space.

  My back is still not great. I've had trigger point injections recently for the pain and inflammation. I'm so grateful I can walk around and finally do most things but I wonder if I will ever be able to sit like a normal person again. It's just so uncomfortable. The more time passes the worse it seems to get. Sigh. Such is my lot in life right now, I guess, but it could ALWAYS be worse. Maybe when I'm not having to pick up a hefty baby (now toddler) it will get a chance to heal better.

  I am shocked at how much Benny eats. He can really pack the food in! His favorite place is always the high chair, LOL.

  Yes, those are lucky charms, and yes, he's already figured out how to pick out the marshmallows and leave the rest. Lovely junk food cereal. 

  It's warming up outside finally and the kids are spending more time outside. (YAY!)

  Spring is my favorite time of year and I'm so excited to have a new basement so we can have room to 'stretch out.'