New year, new goals...

I have spent the passed few weeks ridden with guilt over not being on my blog since November 17!!!  I can't believe how time has flown!  Not only have I not gotten on my blog but I actually lost my blog address, unbelievable!   Let me first explain how on earth that happened.  We had the glorious privilege of getting a new computer for Christmas and I had saved my blog address on the old one which we stuck upstairs not wanting to use it ever again because I believe that it lived even  before the dinosaurs walked the earth.  Anyways, I searched and searched the Internet for my blog with no avail.  I did however find a few other Grimes Family blogs out there which was interesting.  Oh, and there is another Kimberly Grimes in this world-who'd a thunk?  So this morning after finishing up with laundry, breakfast, & getting everyone ready for the day, I finally gave myself permission to veg on the computer and find my blog address.  As you can tell, I did succeed, but it did take turning on the old dino computer to find it, it was crazy to be reminded of just how slow that thing was. (Thanks  again Parker!)    Oh new technology, how wonderful!!!

Over the passed few weeks I have been trying to come up with my resolutions for the new year.  It seems as though I am not self motivated enough or don't strive hard enough to stick with my goals.  Because every year I find my myself wanting to start the new year out with the same goals as the year before.  As you probably guessed it that's not working out that great for me.   I am determined to make this year a better experience so that I can get to New Years Eve 2009 feeling proud of my accomplishments.  

Every year since I started having kids my #1 goal is always to loose weight.  Instead, this year I am just going to focus on being healthier so that I can feel better and I am hoping the weight loss will follow.  I do however have to pat myself on the back.  I did loose some weight this fall after I broke my back in a few places and had to go to PT to heal. They taught me quite a lot and it kicked weight loss into gear.  I always try to find blessings out of hardships and loosing weight from that trial was a definate perk!  I am still doing the stretches and exercises they taught me and hope to keep adding more, and I will be heading out for walks and jumping on the treadmill more often.  I am also trying to eat healthier by adding more fruits and veggies, drinking plenty of water, (I quit drinking soda last year) watching my portions and I have a no fast food rule.  We will see how that works in the eating department.   

As for setting a goal to work on my mothering skills I read an article that said how one of the most important things you can do for your children is to make them feel special, I know, we all know that's a given.  But, it went on to say that kids need to truly be heard.  It said that too often parents keep their surrounding noisy and concentrate on other things while their children are trying to talk with them.  So, that is my new goal; giving my children total attention when they are talking to me.  This means that I have to turn off the radio, TV, turn away from the computer or put my book down so that they have my complete undivided attention.  I have been working on this for a few weeks now and I have seen a difference in our relationships.  We have had some great talks, and my 6 year old is enjoying it and constantly asking me to sit down with her and read books more often.  I think the kids can feel a change.  Through consciously trying this I have somehow found more patience as well.  So, this goal is working.

I have set a goal to keep up with my blog.  I think writing in it will not only keep friends and family updated on us but will also work on my creativity and writing skills.  I used to love to write, so this will help me to redevelop that talent and hopefully you will notice my writing skills improving as I go along.  I want to find ways to display some recipes and other things for you all to follow, so that it's not just me ranting and there will be substance it this here blog.  

I feel as though I have sort of lost myself in the years of raising my little kids and now that they are all in school all day long I find myself wondering what I used to enjoy before I cleaned, changed diapers and chased kids around all day.  In the months to come I will be doing some soul searching and finding new hobbies and past times this year now that I have more "me" time to do so.

Our nightly Sleepwalking visitor

Every night around 10:00 pm we have a ornery little visitor. It wasn't until recently that we figured out that she sleep walks. It is our youngest gorgeous girl Gabriella. First of all you have to know a little about her. She is just the sweetest & cutest little six year old ever! Her goal in life is to make others happy whether it is to smile, giggle or help them out, she is the one for the job! Her 1st grade teacher recently told us that she is just a smarty pants and does an awesome job with her work but she has one little problem, she feels that it is her personal job in life to help anyone and everyone with anything they need. If she is busy working on an assignment and hears someones pencil box drop or a paper fall it is always Gabbie to the rescue immediately! She is too busy looking out for everyone else and sometimes doesn't get her own work done because of it. So I sat down and had a little talk with her because I was worried that she wasn't getting all of her assignments done. I started with the airplane analogy of how if the airplane is in distress you must first put your own oxygen mask on before you can help others with theirs or you could get sick and then you wouldn't be able to do any good for the rest of the passengers. She replied with, "But Mommy, what would Jesus do? Wouldn't he want to help all people first before himself?" What do you say to that??? She also has the most adorable facial expressions. One man in our ward said that we always need to sit somewhere ahead of him in Sacrament meeting because watching her facial expressions is the joy in his meeting. Another thing, when she had to have her tonsils out at age 5 and the nurses came to tell us that we could go in and see her they all told us that most kids come out of anesthesia ornery but not this girl, she woke up all smiles and patted the nurse on the arm as if to comfort her. Throughout the recovery she never would complain even though we could obviously tell she was hurting and needing some medicine. So now that you know a little more about her personality let me explain our nightly visit. Every night at 10:00 she comes into our room ornery as heck, agitated and confused. This is the only time she is that way any other time she wakes up happy and bubbly. We figured out that she needs to use the potty. Last night we directed her towards the bathroom and she first made a wrong turn missing the toilet and proceeded to try to go to the bathroom and once I diverted her to the toilet she kept her pants on. We were laughing hysterically but she finally was triumphant. Then once she has used the restroom she will walk straight back to her room and get in bed. During this event she won't say a word she just grunts and whines at us. We have come to expect this little visit, and enjoy a good laugh over the way she acts about it. I often say how she is my absolute joy in life. With her starting first grade this year I have gone through Gabbie withdrawals and it has been hard not to have her by my side throughout my day. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for such an adorable angel.
I of course feel the same about my older two kiddo's. I feel extremely blessed to have all of them, they are the three biggest blessings in my life. Even though getting them here was the 3 biggest challenges of my life. I would do it all again to have them with me. I have been contemplating Motherhood a lot lately. My heart breaks for my loved ones who are struggling so hard to become mothers but I am positive that Heavenly Father has a plan for those women as well and someday they will receive these special little blessings themselves.

HALLOWEEN 2008

We had a great Halloween! Harrison was very creative this year and wanted to be a slave prisoner from Les Mis. He looked pretty beat up and creepy! Madeleine was a fancy witch, she wore some of Ginny's cruising clothes and looked very classy and georgeous! Gabbie was an adorable little Alice in Wonderland. That morning the girls school had a fun parade and were both just darling. We went to Dave and Ginny's for their yearly Halloween dinner where it was fun to see what all of the others cousins had dressed up as. From there we went to the church to Trunk or Treat and then we hit the pavement and went Trick or Treating. Ash and I thought it would be a long drawn out process but with in no time the kids told us they had scored in the candy deptartment and were ready to head home and see what they had gotten. We warmed up with Hot Cocoa and then my Mom and Grandma came over to see them all dressed up in their costumes and we had a great visit!

Joining the blogging world

So after much contemplation and veiwing many blogs out there I decided to join the ranks and begin a blog for our family. I think that it will be a fun adventure and a great way to keep in touch with our family and friends. I hope you can enjoy stepping into a corner of the Grimey's world and share in our lives.