Merry Christmas-time :)

Happy Anniversary US!!

I wanted to post a Happy Anniversary to Jason and I! I know that sounds cheeky, but I want Jason to know that I love being married to him. I have loved our journey with all its twists and turns. In ten years of married life I think that we have seen and experienced more than many do in an entire marriage. Thank you for always allowing me to be me and loving me just the same. I appreciate all that you do for me and our family. You are the bees knees, or snickers knickers ;).
I know there is so much more in store for us and I am so happy to have you by my side. I love you Jason!!!

Sweet Baby Lucas

I present to you Lucas Aaron Edwards.

Summertime Edwards Style

It's that age old Primary question, What do you do in the Summmertime? Well, if you are part of our Edwards clan you draw mustaches on and act out sinister play plots. You may not know this but according to Michael you can get away with more stuff if you have a mustache on and no one will know you did it! Well said, EXCEPT he is the only redhead in our house with sticky fingers for banana muffins and whatever toy his little brother has..hmmm. He'll have to rethink his statement, but for now there are mustaches abounding and keeping us throughly entertained. I would like to thank Sephora for making the perfect eyeliner for play mustaches.

Now back to the original question, What do YOU do in the summertime???

1 year

Forever in our hearts.
Forever our little boy.

Happy Birthday SAM ! ! !

Happy 2nd Birthday Samuel! We are so blessed to have you in our family. We love your sweet face and high energy. Everyday is an adventure with you, constantly on the search for something to discover. We thank Heavenly Father for trusting us with you.

Happy Birthday little one! Hope its a good one :)

Holy Cannoli's

Jason and Jarom recently went to NY for our sweet niece Ella's baby blessing. They had a a seriously fun time and poor Jarom hated to leave his NY cousins. Trust me many tears were shed as he left Angie and Abby. We can't wait to see them next year. The best part of their trip is that my sweet husband brought me back my favorite cannolis. yum. Just the thought of them now makes my mouth water. I first had a "real" cannoli when we went out for Abby's blessing in 2004 and well, I have missed them. I just couldn't enjoy their yumminess and not blog about it. This was also the first time that Michael had a cannoli. It was also love at first bite. He wanted to stay up and eat the whole thing. That may have been just a strategy to get to stay up later, but it didn't work. He went to bed and Jason and I enjoyed our own cannolis in peace. It was HEAVEN. If you are ever on Long Island make sure to get yourself a yummy cannoli, you can thank me later ;).

p.s.
I do in fact know that cannoli's are sold ALL over, especially in that part of the USA, but it wouldn't be the same as THIS cannoli and you would be sad. True Story!!

Mom this ones for you :)

Missouri Trip :)

I know, I know this post has taken me faaaaar to long to post. I honestly have had good intentions to post this sooner, but you know what they say about good intentions right? Well, do ya, cuz my excuse is short without it ;)


We had lots of fun going to Missouri. The boys were psyched to see cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. The airplane ride was a little tense on the way out, I'm sure that was fueled by the excitement of just getting there. The weather was great. We took the boys to Liberty Jail, The Pony Express Museum, The Nature Museum, Fishing, and we had an family Easter Egg Hunt. They were so sad to leave exclaiming, "we need to stay for 20 more weeks." They are already planning our next trip!

Happy Mother's Day !!!

Just a little funny for all our mom's and moms-to-be :) Enjoy your special day !!

Just WRONG!

This is what my kids had for lunch today BEFORE I read about a little experiment that Baby Bites creator Nonna is doing. This picture above is of a Happy Meal that get this, just celebrated its first birthday away from the golden arches that gave it birth. Oh gag! Writing this is making my pregnant stomach turn. She says that even though this meal of joy has been out for one year it has yet to decompose in any way. It doesn't smell or show signs of aging, if we could all be that lucky ;). Here is the link to her blog . I think that you will find it just as disturbing as me. I challenge anyone to read that and STILL find McD's appetizing.
Alright, I have to step away from the screen at this point. ugh :(.

Happy Easter!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

I love dyeing Easter Eggs. Its one of my favorite Easter traditions. I think the creative part appeals to me. Its so fun to see my boys get all precise with their colors and what goes where as they layers the colors. I am all for a solid color. I love purple so you'll see that my egg is just that, purplr :) That color makes me smile. Anyway, the boys had loads of fun coloring eggs. We got a little bit of a late start since we waited for Jason to come home from Priesthood session. He said it was one of the best meetings he has ever gone too. Bonus!
we each got an egg with our name written on it. My mom use to do that with a white crayon when we were growing up. I think it was to make sure there weren't any fights over who had who's egg. After they picked the colors and dyed their name egg they were given an additional egg to color as they chose. I will be honest I have heard that other families do about two dozen eggs for a family of four or five and I cannot stomach the thought of eating that many eggs so from now until I am not longer able to dye eggs my limit is two per person :).
Once we were done with eggs we had to get ready for bed, but the boys were really excited for the Easter Bunny to come to our house.

This season is my favorite for so many reasons. I love the renewing of plants and life around you. It reminds me to have hope in the redemptive power of the Savior. Seeing green after months of cold and white blanket covered surroundings gives me a physical reference for the feeling of the love of God. I have so much around me to witness the power and grace of God. This Spring and Easter in particular my thoughts are on the ones that I have lost who now dwell in peace with He who gave His life so willingly. I am grateful for that gift and thankful to my Heavenly Father for blessing my heart with a spring of its own after feeling the biting cold of loss and sadness. I could have never imagined having as full a life 9 months ago and I am glad that I put my faith where it belonged and let the Lord work in His way to heal me and my family.

Viking Sam

I just LOVE this little smile. Of course, I love all my kids smiles, but Sam has just recently learned how to "cheese" and it is sooo adorable.
Sam is a little bit of both his Grandpa's and a sprinkle of his Great-Grandpa Edwards. He is also blessed with a sweet disposition. Our family loves watching him get big.

Happy to Announce

We have kept this under wraps for many reasons, but today we went to the Perinatologist and he gave us the thumbs up to breath a little easier. As you can after our stillbirth and loss last year we were finding it hard to get excited about this pregnancy, sad but true. We found no joy in telling people and really have told only a very small group of people. There was no rhyme or reason to who we told, so hopefully no offense is taken. I was well into my second trimester before I told MYSELF that this was actually happening, lol. We felt like if we were worried that our friends and family might worry as well and given our loved ones situations in life we chose not to add any more concerns to their list. We are happy with our decision and even more so since our little boy is perfect, or at least that is the word they used to describe him. Perfect we will take :). As for gender we are OVER the moon excited to welcome another sweet boy into our home. We have tentatively chosen a name, Jacob Aaron . For those that know my Joseph Jacob is a family name and we love family names. we also felt it fitting since we have a Joseph to go with Jacob since it generally follow the first name Joseph in the Mollus household. We will always remember our sweet Joseph and what better way to ensure his role as a big brother than to give our next son a name that follows his so commonly in my family. I jsut realized that was a really long explination for something simple, sorry :). I really am beyond excited and my lack of succinteness is evident, sorry.

We finally told the boys today that we are expecting and their reactions were priceless. Jarom immediately said, "we're having a girl, yeah!". To which I had to dash his hopes and say "no!". I'm not sure I have ever seen him so disappointed. He came back at me with, "well, maybe next time." I was stunned that I couldn't respond, Jason did and his response was perfect. Michael's mouth just dropped open and he was so excited. Sam of course, had no response, and that was perfect he just went on playing. What did you expect he's 21 months old, lol!!!

Above all we are feeling really blessed. We can't think of words to express how truly thankful we are to have this opportunity again. We have appreciated all the continued words of encouragement, thoughts, and prayers for our family. We love you all and hope that you feel it.

Quote for the day

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have" President Ford

Erin Go Bragh!!

Happy St.Patrick's Day friends! We hope that everyone has fun activities planned for the day. I'm breaking long-standing family tradition and NOT having corned beef and cabbage in the traditional form. I have instead decided on a making a version that is more acceptable to my picky eaters, and that is corned beef and cabbage in a calzone form. No red sauce, but they will "think" they are eating pizza. I pray that my Irish roots don't shrivel for the lack of giving them something so Irish-American in form. However, I am fairly sure that my ancestors had to adapt many a recipe to the change in availability and so forth :)

Jarom went to school today with a homemade Leprechaun trap. It was funny to watch him pull the string and laugh when he would catch something in the trap. I asked him what he would do with a Leprechaun if he ever caught one and he said, "play with it!" We had a quick lesson on the nature of a Leprechaun, and that ended the desire for a Leprechaun playmate. I am very interested to see what they do in honor of St.Patrick's Day at school. It should be fun. We have some activities planned for later, and I will post those pics tonight. In the mean time have a great day and to a special boy lucky enough to be born on this great day Happy Birthday to B.G.M who turns 8 today!!!! Mayn happy birthday wishes!
I sign off with an irish quote/blessing:

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.

Lovely Lady

Who's that Lady? That lovely lady? That's my Mom! The mother of ten children. A wife of nearly 53 years, and a fantastic cook. My sweet sister took her in for a little spruce, which everyone one needs here and again, and she looks FABULOUS!!! I found this cute little poem that makes me think of my mom.

MOM RECIPE:
50 cups of Love
1 cup punishment
15 1/2 cups caring
4 1/2 cups helpfulness
3 tablespoons hugs & kisses
1 teaspoon sadness
3 cups of cheerfulness
1 cup fun
20 cups caringness

Mix all together and add some Sugar for sweetness then pour into mom maker, in 15 min you have a 99% Mom Because no one is perfect <3

I really love the ending it reminds me of my mom's wit which she lovingly passed down to all her daughters. She also gave us strength and courage to face all of life's many bumps. She taught us to smile when being teasded and then gracefully tell them to "eat rocks". I honestly, think that was her favorite expression when dealing with people who were not very nice :) I don't think you ever stop learning from your parents. Whether its learning what doesn't work for you or watching two people grow more in love as they enjoy their autumn together. All lessons are still being received.

Thank You Mom for continuing to teach some of life's most important lessons to me.

Next Lesson:
Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.
-- Marilyn Mach Vos Savant

~*~*~*She'e HERE!!!~*~*~*

Glenn and Nat had their baby yesterday!! I don't want to give out too much info since my blog isn't private, but I am so happy that Ella is doing great for being so early. Prayers for my sweet Natalie are appreciated. As any women who have had a baby can attest having some babies isn't easy and man this one wasn't easy ;) We are so happy that she made it into the world safe and that Nat is getting good care. We pray for the NICU staff to take the best care of Ella and for the Post-Partum nursing staff to take the best care of momma possible.

What was important then is important now!

Happy March Everyone! I wanted to share this video that was shared with me. I have to first state that I am not one to share video that is gloom and doom backed, but that I found this video so rooted in things that I see and feel about the current direction of our Country that I couldn't avoid sharing it. I think its so interesting how relavent it is 45 years after Ezra Taft Benson's first addressed the congregation. I know that whatever side of the party line you fall on we all love America and enjoy the freedoms that it affords us. Enjoy.
Happy Monday!

Have you ever wondered

what space exploration has ever done for you. Click here.

The photo is just for fun :)

Do you miss him yet?

I was talking to a good friend of mine this morning about the Constellation and Ares program benefits ( click here ). Anyway, she mention to me that she had heard about a billboard in Minnesota that featured former President George W. Bush with the caption "Miss me Yet?". All this with his trademark grin. I have to say that I wasn't terribly happy with some choices that he made in the last year of his term in office, but I wasn't someone crying out for radical change (see Obama in your dictionary for that one). I wanted to "see" this sign for myself and found the sign and an accompanying article one the CNN Politics website here . It was a pretty interesting article when they made the statement,

"U.S. News and World Report noted earlier this month that even the Obama Store, located in tourist-filled Union Station, has closed, in what "may be the most tangible sign yet that the [Obama] honeymoon is over."

and then I wondered, is the honeymoon over? Do American's feel differently than they did a year ago? For me, I honestly, hope that mid-term elections reflect more balance. Any thoughts in the back of my mind that he would change things for the better are completely gone. Yes! It takes time to see what good a president has done, but out-sourcing manned space flight to Russia, and extra taxation to small business owner's hardly endears me to him, and that's just a start to list of ills that I find. Is it wrong to want to employ American's? Feed American children? House American children? Why is that wrong? Why are you considered Ethnocentric, or close-minded if you want to see your neighbor down the block attain his version of the American dream? Heck, what's wrong with wanting your neighbor down the street to be able to retire BEFORE he/she is too old to enjoy it? I'm not talking a luxury car in every garage or even that every American should be a millionaire and we should be a powerhouse in the global infrastructure of anything. Why can we just be?

Another question: Can someone help me down from this soapbox? Its a little to real up here.

**Don't get me wrong I am smart enough to know why it is that we can't just focus on the problems of our country, its a rhetorical statement. **

Happy Valentine's Day !

Happy Valentine's Day all!! we hope that everyone is having a wonderful day remembering the people they love and what they love about them. The boys all got cookies with their names on them and Jason got some yummy Ande's mints. My sweet husband of course, bought me a dozen red roses. As beautiful as the roses are I am more excited about the delicious dinner that Jason is making. We are thinking about all of our family today as we center our thoughts around all the wonderful people in our lives. Those that are here and those that are past. I think fond memories and chocolate go well together, how about you?

Lawrence Welk

I remember going over to my grandma's house on sunday and she would flip on PBS. Across the screen was a full band playing the opening to a grandma-friendly program, Lawrence Welk. I'm not entirely convienced that she actually LIKED that show, but I knew it wasn't the same as when she would turn to Golden Girls just to make my dad uncomfortable. Anyway, the first time that I saw this spoof on SNL I nearly peed my pants laughing so hard. Take a second and savor this take on a classic family program.

Oh! and the bubbles at the end are my favorite :)

Happy Birthday JaRoM !!!!

Happy Birthday to our bright, and brillant biggest brother!!! We are so happy to have Jarom in our family. He is an excellent helper, great friend, and loving member of our family. We can hardly believe that Jarom is 7 today. It feels like just yesterday we were having him, and thanking Heavenly Father for such an easy baby. We can't wait until next year comes and He can get "Batman-tized" :)
We love you Jarom enjoy this special day !!!!!!!
<3
Mom, Dad, Michael, Sam, and

Happy Groundhogs Day!

Puxatawney Phil saw his shadow and the sentence is six more weeks of winter. Of course, we were excited to see Phil it means that its Jarom's bday (post to come). I wonder how much stock we should take it his prediction. Anyway, here is a link for the kids.

Oh! and a shout out to "uncle" Joe since its his bday too. Nat, pass that on ;)

The Hap Ki Do Kid

Jarom passed his yellow belt test!!! He was so excited to not have to wear the white belt anymore. He lovingly passed that on to Michael who must now refer to Jarom as "sensei". Jarom is having alot of fun and learning lots about discipline in sports. He loves to "practice" his moves on Michael, at least thats what he calls it when he gets caught! Michael has decided that he wants to quit tumbling classes and go to Hap Ki Do, despite the fact that he would be the youngest and smallest person in class and the chance of getting kicked on accident are pretty high. We shall see. I wasn't sure that Hap Ki Do would offer the same benefits as Karate, but for Jarom it has. He is learning about confidence, respect, and control. All the things that we were hoping for. He loves his instructor and enjoys learning every week.

Year End Letter

Formerly, known as the "Christmas Letter". I tried really hard to get these out before we left for our trip, post to come, but it didn't happen with all my letters. My family in MO. didn't get their letters so that is why I am posting it on my blog. It would probably have been more "green" to only post it here, but that didn't happen either so maybe next year, lol! So here it is:

It never seems to fail that every December I think to myself, “Wow! This year has gone by quickly.” It’s that time again to publish the yearly family letter. I promise that none of our children found a cure for cancer or flew to the moon on a rocket they built out of macaroni and glue. This won’t be that kind of Christmas letter.
I will give a quick rundown on what the Edwards Family, Utah branch, has been up to. Jason is continuing his work at ATK Launch Systems and enjoying every opportunity to use his skills to do what he loves. Mindy decided this fall to reduce her work schedule at McKay Dee Women’s Imaging in favor of spending more time with the boys. Jarom (6 ½) is enjoying the 1st grade. He lost his first tooth this year and we had to convince him that pulling his teeth out would in fact NOT be a lucrative business move. Michael (4) is a joy to have around, but definitely keeps Mindy busy. He is happily taking a tumbling class and says he feels like a “Jedi Knight” when he jumps on the mats. Samuel (18m) has really grown. I guess that’s what you expect from a baby, huh? He has learned to walk and is jabbering away. I wonder where he got that gift of gab…hmmm.
As many of you are aware our family has experienced many losses this year. In May, Jason’s mother passed away as a result of long battle with various health concerns. In July, our son, Joseph, was born seventeen weeks early, and still. November brought us the loss of one more loved one as Jason’s grandmother passed away from breast cancer. I write this to neither sadden, nor make anyone feel pity for us, but rather to say to all the many people who prayed for our family and shared your love with us, “Thank You!” We have felt so strongly Christian love for our family. We can bear witness that with each loving act we felt the love of our Savior and our Heavenly Father for us. His Spirit worked through many and your kindnesses will never be forgotten.
We pray that as the New Year begins you and your families may be blessed with good health and many opportunities to enjoy your loved ones.