Marcus is here!

Sweet baby Marcus Tom was born March 10th at 6:45 p.m. He weighed in at 8lbs. 3oz. By far our biggest baby. He is so sweet and cute with his perfect skin and button nose. (Who are we kidding he looks just like every one of our other kids, seriously EXACTLY the same.) What can I say, when you have a good thing you should at least try and duplicate it a time or two or six. We are really glad to have him here safe and sound. All the kids just love him so much! We fight over who's he is on a regular basis. Sadie is convinced he is her baby and no one else's. Let's be honest every two year old thinks everything is theirs, right? Anyway, he has brought such joy and peace to our home and we are truly grateful for this sweet new addition.

Happy Valentines Day

We are not really big on this holiday in our house. Ussually we don't do anything but this year Mom and Dad did splurge a little. The kids got another dance pad for their ddr game. The fighting over the one was getting a little much! (Plus, Mom really wants to go head to head with Justin and knock him down a peg or two.)

Happy Birthday Riley and Jillian

O.K. O.K. I know that I have been a big slacker its just that there has been absolutely nothing interesting going on over here. Well untill this week. It was the twins birthday on the 12th and so we had a fun little family party. They got Dance Dance Revolution from their Grandma and Grandpa Mellenthin. It has been a really fun addition to the game system. Everyone seems to really love it, especially their older brother who seems to be able to swindle hours of playtime away from them. It seems he is alway about to win and he just needs to play one more song and so on and so on. Riley and Jillian also got new bunkbeds from Mom and Dad. They have been spending hours in there room since which is nice for Mom who is having trouble keeping up with all five kids when she is eight months pregnant. Unfortunately the TV has become the babysitter. Hopefully, life will get back to normal soon and everyone will not have fried there brains in the process.

Nothing new here but I made a commitment to write once a week so here I am.

It is snowing outside and it is so beautiful. I love to watch the snow fall but I hate to go out in it. Apparently my kids have the same feelings. They are sitting in front of the t.v. and playing video games rather than playing outside. Oh well, they go back to school next Tuesday and life will be very different. We will be back to our very busy schedule of homework and the like.

I recently read the book "The Robe" by Lloyd C. Douglas. It was a very interesting and enlightening book. I felt a little like I was studying scripture which was actually nice for me. I have a lot of trouble finding time to do that. The Robe is a story of a Roman Soldier who wins Christ's robe after his crucifixion and goes on a quest to find out who Christ was and what was so special about him. It was nice to read about the miracles that were performed and to look at all that happened in a little different way. I also enjoyed learning about the Roman empire a little bit and what was happening at the same time as Christ's life. You never really think about all that together because you learn about them separately in school and church and the like.

Well I told you nothing new was happening here and sorry to bore you but hey I am sticking to my commitment at least for the month of January. Hopefully I can continue!

Sadie is an underwear wearer and she's only 2!

Sadie is officially potty trained. Now many of you may not know this but this is HUGE NEWS at the Mellenthin home. She decided she wanted to wear underwear a few weeks before Christmas and Brian and I said absolutely not, no way, we are not doing this, no, no, no.... but she persisted! She would not relent. We would put her in a diaper and three minutes later she would be running around in a pair of her sisters underwear and not just wearing them but keeping them dry and clean. She has literally done this on her own. Maybe because Brian and I had nothing to do with it it will last. I am not holding my breath. Since Brian and I are the worst Potty Trainers in the known world we are excited for her and her new found freedom but we are waiting for the ball to drop. I am sure when the new baby is born she will revert and then Brian and I will feel a little more comfortable. This is seriously throwing us for a little loop, I mean really a child who actually stays dry and clean all day..... and she's only two, what is the world coming too?

We had a trampoline in our FAMILY ROOM

Yes, the title is accurate! Grandma and Grandpa Mellenthin gave the kids a trampoline for Christmas and my husband was determined to put it up in the Family Room. Crazy right? Yes, he is crazy, but right. The kids loved it and most likely will never forget it!

We had a great Christmas. On Christmas Eve we did our traditional Birthday Party for Jesus and all gave our gifts to Christ. After some considerable prodding we got Riley to pick something other than "I will eat ice-cream everyday." It actually turned out really nice, Colton promised to listen to good music (I don't know where he would here bad music, but that's o.k.) Jillian has promised to obey right away (Mom is really hoping she sticks to this one) Justin is going to keep the world clean (thank you to the school systems for pushing this) and Mom and Dad promised to go to the temple more. Hopefully we will all remember these and be successful.

Christmas morning was really nice. Apart from the crazy tramp the kids got some good gifts that they really seem to like. Justin has told me 50 times that this is the best Christmas ever which is spectacular because he only got 4 things. I guess Santa and Mom and Dad really paid attention this year.

Today, I have been walking around my house watching my kids play with their friends and new things and wondering how I got so lucky! Life is good and we are so blessed!

Christmas is Coming, Mom is getting FAT!

So here we are ready for another year of Joy and Gladness..... or fighting and sadness?

Christmas is always so fun for our family. With five kids and one on the way the spirit is definitely here. We love to buy gifts for each other and make Santa lists.... and more Santa lists... I think each of the kids have revised their lists at least 3 times. Unfortunately, I think Santa did most of his shopping in November so we may have some disappointment. I hope not.
I love Christmas morning. At our house Santa wraps the gifts and hides them. The kids then take turns going to find their gift. It is nice to watch them be excited for there siblings and to watch there faces when they open the gift. The other nice thing about this Mellenthin tradition is that it makes Christmas morning last a little longer.