Austenland

Well, speaking of obsessed...I just finished reading Austenland. Anyone who is an Austen fan needs to read this book. It's very quick and really cute and fun to read. One of the best things was in the Acknowledgments where the author is thanking her husband. She says (and I say this to my husband too), "And honey, you know that this Colin Firth thing isn't really serious. You are my fantasy man and my real man. I need no other fella in all the world besides you. It's just a girl thing, I swear." Amen to that. :)

I have moved on:)

The obsession is over..kind of. As long as I don't think or talk about it. Or as long as Becca is moving and not reading the books and calling me to report all the little things that make Twilight so addictive:)

We are getting ready for Levi's birthday party this week and I decided it would be a good week to clean the house. I mean REALLY clean the house. Like empty entire closets and fill them with something else. Buy storage containers to organize the kids stuff. All of that. So far, the only thing that has been accomplished today was some garage organization and all the cobwebs got dusted out from the corners. Everyone with young kids should have brightly colored feather dusters. This makes children WANT to work. I eventually had to put them up because the kids were "cleaning too much" :) Hopefully we will get tons done this week and the house will be perfectly in order from now on. Oh, that was pretty funny:) But, we can try, can't we?

Let's see, what else has been going on? The one good thing about the Twilight Series (and Seth getting a bit older) is that my love for reading is rekindled. I read "Rachel and Leah" by Orson Scott Card and started "Austenland" by Shannon Hale. Both really good so far. The hardest part is getting to the library...at least the grown-up part of the library. But you can put a hold on books online and when they are ready, the library will mail you something. You go in and they have your books set aside alphabetically by your name and you can even check them out yourself. You don't even have to talk to one person. I love how computers make our lives simpler...most of the time.

Well, maybe I will blog more after this week. It should be a busy one! And I want to post pictures of baby Seth. He's growing up SO fast. Life is good.

Obsessed?

Has anyone seen "Better Off Dead" where the mom and dad are talking about how Lane is in love with Beth and his mom says, "Obsessed?" and then Lane opens his closet and every hanger has Beth's face on it? Well, I seem to have become a bit obsessed about this Twilight series. Seriously! I don't know how else to describe it. I read it super fast, not doing anything else in the meantime. I let children go wild "just until the end of this chapter." I dreamed about werewolves. And I cannot stop thinking about the books. This is not my usual reaction to things that I read, but I just can't seem to move on. The funny thing is (and it's a bit relieving, actually) is that I am not the only one. There are blogs, websites, people at church, family...everyone! Do other books cause this kind of commotion? There are many books that I LOVE, but I don't feel so emotionally connected to them as I do this teenage fiction. I feel just a bit silly! I want her to be done writing them and I want to have seen all the movies so I can move on with my life. It's really a love-hate relationship. With a book.

Our newest Nephew

Congrats to Geo's brother Pat and his wife Amber on the birth of their son, Griffin!!! What a cutie! I think he looks remarkably like our kids. Those Jones genes are strong. Amber, you win the awesome Mommy in labor award! Hope you guys are all getting settled and enjoying the crying, pooping, and barfing that comes with an infant:) But, of course, you can't forget the sweetness, cuddling and simply loving that comes to!!

Yippee for new babies!

Reasons for Not Blogging

Reason number 1I am THRILLED that David Cook won! He was our favorite!!! By far the BEST!

Reason number 2

Reason number 3

These books are so fun to read, but again with the "I can't do anything but read" syndrome. This really just can't be a good thing, can it? I guess I should stop reading New York Times Best Sellers...because these books were so good, there was no putting them down!

Boys and Girls

Levi: I am going to take this sword on my (pretend) trip in case anyone tries to attack me!

Natalie: I am going to take my backpack full of stuffed animals and give one to anyone that bothers me.

One of the many differences between boys and girls:)

Organized Chaos

Today, my kids and I walked around our subdivision shopping at garage sales. 2 people commented about how well-behaved my kids were :) This is the thought that I dwelt on when later every child was screaming their head off at the exact same time and there was nothing I could do to make anyone happy. That thought was my happy place. I am truly having a blast with 4 kids! I am blessed. :)