Mother's Day Program

Have you ever had one of those days? I was so excited to get to Jadyn’s Preschool Program this morning that I packed the kids in the car, grabbed the freshly baked cookies for the luncheon (in the process leaving my keys sitting on the kitchen counter) locked up the house and climbed in my packed car only to realize that I had no keys. No problem, right? Well, Jared was busy in his new office in Mesa and could not drive out to rescue me. Someone else has our spare key, and I still needed to drop Jenna off with my sister-in-law because I knew that she wouldn’t sit quietly during the program. I had 40 minutes to get to the program and I would have been so upset if Jared hadn’t reminded me, “Happiness is a choice.”

Thank heavens for my sweet Mother. She met up with Jared, grabbed his key and drove out to my house where the kids and I were waiting, opened my house, took Hyrum to the program and saved me a seat. I rushed to drop Jenna off and walked in just as the kids were lining up to sing the first song. Jadyn waved when she saw me. I would have hated to miss any of it.

The program was the best! The little preschool kids sang the songs with such exuberance. Jadyn LOVES to sing and she was very comfortable right on the front row. She is such a crack up! She gave me the gifts that she had been working on in school (have I mentioned how awesome Nana’s preschool is?!?) and I loved every precious thing. Being a Mom just gets better and better! Did I mention that my little girl is the cutest little performer ever? Jadyn stole the show and I love being her Mom!

A Little Brother

Jadyn absolulety loves having a baby brother. She likes to read stories to him, sing to him, and hold him. I honestly think that she is looking forward to the time when he will play dress up with her and be the Prince in all of her fairy tales. Last night when she was holding him, I grabbed my camera. She was sitting on the couch telling him the story of Cinderella when I started taking pictures. Too cute!

Later, I asked Jadyn why she likes Hyrum so much. These were her answers:

Hyrum is a nice brother and he loves me so much.

I like him when he laughs at my funny jokes.

Hyrum makes me happy every day when he smiles at me and I say, "Hyrum, that's cute. You look like a good brother to me."

At this point, I was laughing and Jadyn said, "Mother, this is serious. Hyrum is my baby brother and I just love him in our family!"

She is a funny kid and a great older sister. Hyrum is lucky to have 2 older sisters that adore him. I look forward to these kids growing up together.

Women's Retreat

How full is your bucket?

This was the theme of this year's super-awesome, fun Women's Retreat that we enjoyed at the Riggs cabin close to Flagstaff. Tina did a fabulous job and gave each of us a bucket filled with M&Ms. Sweet.

After a weekend spent with some amazing women from our ward, my bucket felt pretty full. (Lots of sleep would have helped it to overflow, but I can't have everything. I opted to stay up and chat until the early hours of the morning.) It felt great to get away from regular life for a short time and recharge spiritually and emotionally. Jared and Nana did a great job with the girls and Hyrum hung out with a house full of ladies all weekend. He was the only little one in attendance this year. He was the best baby! I think he only cried once and that was when I was packing things up. He was pretty happy and liked all of the feminine attention. What baby wouldn't?!?

It was great to get to spend time with many of my friends that I really admire. I think we were a bit more "real" there than we might appear in church. I know that I look around sometimes and wonder how it seems that everyone else has it all together and I feel like I am falling apart. As I got to know some of the sisters better, I realized that some had struggles and strengths that I knew nothing about. I heard stories that made me laugh and others that made me cry. We talked about things that were joyful in our lives and others that were heartbreaking. It was so nice to just talk. I still think that everyone is so amazing. I kept thinking to myself, 'When I grow up I want to be more like her.' We enjoyed great meals, a sweet fireside, and lots of chocolate! We had a blast telling funny stories and serving together. We stayed up late on Friday night chatting and making hats. Service is always a bonus to any activity. It is nice to do something that isn't too hard to grasp for people like me that lack talent in the sewing/quilting department.

The experience was wonderful. I came home to a nice, quiet house and a happy family. Jared is the best! We get to trade off - he is going to Fathers and Sons in a few weeks and I am keeping all of the kids (including the son). I don't know exactly how that happened, but next year things will change...He will get all of the kids for the Women's Retreat and take Hyrum to Fathers and Sons!

I have to thank all of the sisters that attended for such a fabulous retreat. I am already excited for next year!

A Song For Mothers...

I love to make up different words to songs. It seems to be a family thing because Jared is always doing it and I catch Jadyn doing it as well. Today while I was driving to lunch I heard the "No Air" song (Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown) and I started singing my own lyrics. I wish I could remember them all, but the basic idea was the following:

Tell me how'm I suposta live with no sleep?
Can't live, can't give with no sleep...
So tired, all I want to do is dream.
Why can't I sleep?
Just need a whole night to be free-
Bet my kids could live without me
Mom would not be so cranky.
No sleep, no sleep...

The rest of the lyrics had things about my dark eye circles, wishing Jadyn would stay in her bed, night feedings, someone stealing my pillows, etc. Jadyn thought the whole thing was hilarious. She would. She doesn't mind waking me up about 3 or 4 times a night. In fact, some nights I wake up because my leg feels funny and I realize that she is laying on my legs! She doesn't really like her own bed because it is "...not soft like Mommy's bed." Seriously. She thinks that my pillows are softer than hers. I even gave her my favorite pillow the other night and she still ended up in my bed around 4 a.m. I try locking the door, but she finds a hanger and gets in anyway. Jenna has been going to bed later (because it is not dark yet) and getting up at first light. She needs about 12 hours at night and is not getting close to that. She wakes up cranky and before 6 a.m.! This summer thing is going to be the death of me. So to all of the moms that don't feel like they get any sleep, these lyrics are for us.