Below is a stirring three-minute video titled "Thought of You" -- a collaboration by two BYU professors

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

Back to the grind

I must say, it is fun to watch these kids grow. James' vocabulary is growing, along with his ideas about the world. Here are two of his favorite things: monkey, and choo-choo. Looks like monkey might not fit into this train..

This is such a cutie! and sooo sweet!

This is her favorite thing: attention from her brothers, even if it is a bit rough and tumble!

Nothing beats blanky time.

Phoenix fun

For new year, we ventured to Phoenix to visit with Joseph's sisters. It was cold and rainy in Mission Viejo, so we thought the weather would improve in Arizona. Wrong! It was freezing! We still managed to get in a few activities. Our favorite was a trip to a dairy farm.

Somehow, this chicken made it into two pictures. I have never held a chicken before. It was so light!

See the tractor in the background? James says, "mine"!

David and a few cousins. Ready, one.. two..

Three!

Wow! Did you see this superhero?

Santa came to town..

What a crazy season it has been! We have had so much fun, complete with parties, visits with santa, cookies, and decorations! Here are some highlights..

David asked Santa for a lego Atlantis scorpion. Thankfully, Santa was listening.

James wore this hat for the entire month of december. I thought they made a cute duo as rudolph and santa.

Nothing beats homemade sugar cookies..

Don't worry, Ruthie, next year you will get to sample those cookies!!

This was my favorite highlight. Our ward did a nativity for the Christmas party. Joseph and David were lucky enough to be shepherds. The costumes were borrowed from someone in our stake who collects and sews these. It was a really special opportunity.

It is so fun to watch the excitement and wonder of the season through my children's eyes. I do believe in the Christmas spirit!

Faces that make me happy- well most the time

I hit the very lowest point of motherhood yesterday when I dragged my screaming kids out of chick-fil-a. Yes, my 5 year old was SCREAMING. James (no surprise) was throwing a fit. Thankfully, Ruth was asleep. For a whole minute the place was dead quiet as everyone in the restaurant turned their head to see what the commotion was. I have never been so humiliated in my life.

I guess the rewards of motherhood come in small doses, like when you see your baby roll over for the first time:

or when your two year old learns to say "I love you!"

or when your 5 year old tells you that you make the best bread in the "whole universe"!

We had a little scare with David last weekend. He woke up with a huge fever, complete with hallucinations, shortness of breath, and rapid heart beat. When he told us that a choo-choo train was coming to take him to heaven, we were very alarmed. Thanks to priesthood power and Motrin we have our little David back.

Happy Birthday James!

Time has somehow gotten away from me, and I have neglected a few important events... like James' two year old birthday! We had such a fun day, complete with lunch at chick-fil-a and a fun dinner with cousins and grandma and grandpa Larsen. I think that he felt pretty special.

What do I love about James? While he has been a very challenging toddler (tantrums that you wouldn't believe possible), deep inside is a very sweet loving boy. James is very considerate. He notices details that go unnoticed, like the sock that dropped onto the floor, or the baby that got left in the car (yes, that did happen once). He also loves music and constantly sings E-I-E-I-O or the star wars theme song, both on pitch. Whenever I play the piano, he is playing along right next to me. He is also very strong and can have his older brother pinned by the hair on the floor (David is sweet enough not to hit back). He also loves to flash his killer smile for the camera. We are sure happy to have this little monkey in our family.

His favorite things? "Hahee" (monkey), blankey, "dong-dong" (a little storm trooper lego guy), trains, and legos, and anything that David is playing with!

Mormon Battalion Museum

This is about a month old... but I wanted to document our recent trip to the new Mormon Battalion Museum in San Diego. Surprisingly, the Mormons were instrumental in establishing the first settlements here. They even dug wells, and taught the locals how to make bricks. The museum was a MUST see. It was so interactive- organized so that we felt we were actually part of the battalion. Here is David all dressed up as a soldier.

One more of the boys panning for gold