Cornelius Chronicles

Yesterday, my poor husband was subject to one of my spur of the moment big projects. I started out my Saturday afternoon thinking I would just weed my front flower beds and investigate how bad the winter kill was to my yard. Sadly, I discovered that all of my beautiful hibiscus bushes had perished in our unusually late freezes this year. While weeding I came up with a plan to replace the bushes and make my curb appeal more uniform. Dustin came home from work a few hours early. He thought he was going to score an unexpected nap. Unaware of the job ahead of him, the second he drove up the driveway I pounced on him with plans of new hibiscus bushes, more dirt, crazy amounts of mulch and a few flats of flowers. Dustin didn't even flinch. He dutifully said, "Yes Dear," marched into the house to change into work clothes and drove us all to the nursery. We purchased 14 cubic feet of dirt, 18 cubic feet of mulch, 7 three gallon pots of hibiscus bushes, 1 flat of zinnias...

"If you are helpless, he is not. If you are lost, he is not. If you don't know what to do next, he knows. It would take a miracle, you say? Well, if it takes a miracle, why not? ~ President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Here is the fabulous three leafed clover hairdo Rebekah sported last Sunday in honor of my favorite holiday, St. Patrick's Day. I am not Irish, I've never met Darby O'Gil or his little people, and I have never found a pot of gold. Despite these things, I am an avid celebrator of St. Patrick's Day; we're talking Thanksgiving proportions. We all dress in green (if you don't, I pinch you mercilessly until you change!), we think about things that are green or should be, and we top the day off with an Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. ' Tis a wondrous day indeed. I think this year was another fabulous St. Patrick's Day. Happy snake whacking! Xavier is still not terribly jazzed about food other than milk. Loyd has been volunteering to tempt him with our specially made rice cereal delight. Sadly, even with the encouragement of his super cool and amazingly awesome older brother, Xavier manages to keep most of the cereal ou...

Let me introduce you to the perfect shoe. We recently purchased this pair of Disney Princess inspired, light up as you walk, sandals for Rebekah. They were deemed the perfect pair of shoes; they both light up and have princesses on them. For several days now Rebekah has worn them around the clock. She plays in them, she gets dressed around them, and she even sleeps in them. When I asked her why she needs to wear her shoes all the time, as we were trying to convince her to take them off for her bath (we were successful in our persuasions by the way), she told me she needs to wear them so she is always ready to go. So there you have it, once you find your perfect shoe statement never ever take it off. You never know when you'll need them to go some place. I helped throw a baby shower this week for one of my good friends. Part of my responsibilities was to make and bring some cookie dough truffles. As you can see, Loyd was an integral part of the truffle making process. I co...

Last Sunday Xavier had his first taste of real food. Dustin mixed him up some rice cereal and Rebekah and Daddy helped Xavier eat it. He didn't not like it, but I wouldn't say he was overly thrilled by the experience either. His tastes are a bit more discriminating than Bekah's and Loyd's were. Rebekah was so excited to help she could hardly stand it. All afternoon she followed me around the house begging, "Can I feed Xavier yet? Does he eat baby food now? I want to feed him. I'm big; I can help feed Xavier baby food!" She is a great little helper. As you can see, she takes her baby feeding responsibilities very seriously. She loves to help Xavier and teach him new things. She is already asking me when she can help him learn to walk! Xavier loves to play. Out of my three children he has been the most enthusiastic about toys and games. He will happily bat at the toys on his play mat for an hour or so, he giggles like a maniac when Bekah , Loy...