A Quiet Moment, Quick Update

The house is quiet, kids and hubby are asleep, so here is a quick update... May 1st we got to bring Sophie home. She has been such a fun addition to our family. She is such a good baby and so fun to cuddle! I try to enjoy every minute because I have learned from past experience that they dont stay little very long. It is a little sad knowing she will be the last baby in our family, but I am so glad that we have created "sisters." I think back to my own childhood, and I am so glad that I had a sister close in age to me. We were (and are) best friends, and I couldn't imagine how different life would have been without her!! And now I have 2 little sisters that I am raising, and I am so excited about that! Marleigh is so motherly, and wants to hold and cuddle Sophie all the time. Unfortunately she doesn't know her own strength and is a little too rough without meaning to. The boys all love having a baby in the house, too, and love to hold her and try to make her smile.

I am looking forward to summer and having the kids home, but it is also a little overwhelming, too. It is always fun to get out and do things as a family, and enjoy the warm summer months. It's just a little stressful keeping track of and taking care of all 5, all day every day. They are growing so fast, though, and before I know it, they will all be teenagers and I won't be able to see where they are at all times, and know what they are doing. I just hope I can raise them to be good people, and that when they aren't under my feet, they will be making good choices. What a task we have as mothers! In a lot of the talks in conference, they talked about the important role parents have today, and all the struggles we face and will be facing, and how important it is to raise our children with good values so that they will be strong enough to make good choices when they are faced with the challenges of the world. I know that the challenges I had as a teenager are so minimal compared to the challenges kids face now, and that my kids will be faced with in a few years. They are so much smarter than I was, though. I know that each generation is stronger than the last, and that my kids will be able to handle situations wisely, as long as I do my part as a parent. Anyway, I am rambling and getting sidetracked... but thats what has been happening here, and a few thoughts I have been pondering, and here are a few pictures of my cute little "babies"...