For my Mom

This blog post is for my mother on her 55th birthday! (sorry mom, I'm awful at sending cards...)

Hard working, kind, sincere, genuine, easy going, gentle, guileless, optimistic, patient, honest, valiant, sweet, humble, dedicated ...

These are just several of the many qualities that are my mother.

My mother has always been the epitome of hard work. My whole life she has done whatever she could to better herself and her family. She's raised 4 children while driving school buses 10+ hours a day, roofing schools during the hot summer months, going to school while working full time, taking care of her aging parents, teaching computer skill classes and family history classes at the extension school after her normal job, serving in her various church responsibilities, building websites for anyone and everyone, seeking her own family history, gardening and loving and helping her family.

In my 30+ years as her daughter I have rarely heard her say anything unkind about anyone. She doesn't judge others, but is the first to be a friend no matter who you are or what you do. She has a way of putting others at ease. She has no hidden agendas or motives. If I could sum it up in one word it would be "charitable".

What I'm most grateful for has been her example as a follower of Christ. Growing up, I knew my mom's devotion to God and our Mormon Faith. I didn't know this by what she said, I knew it by how she lived, and I am forever grateful for her example, as those beliefs have shaped my life and everything that I am, and everything I strive to be.

Mom, I'm so grateful for the person you are. Thank you for all you do! I hope today is as wonderful as you are! I love you ;)

Happy Birthday!

A Perfect Moment

I'm on a roll with this blog. A few weeks ago I had gone through some old posts I had written about Amy and Ian when they were younger. I read them out loud, and they were giggling so hard about some of the silly things they did. They begged for more. Even if it's only for me and my kids, I'm remembering the importance of writing things down. This is a much more comfortable medium for me than Facebook statuses or anything else although I must admit it feels a little outdated.

Today, I had a perfect moment. It may have only been 10 seconds but my heart took a picture. School started again Monday and it has taken me 3 days of being late or almost late to finally get back on track. Today we were early for school -- A small miracle. I think Amy was excited to be one of the first in line. We pull up to the curb of the school,  I give her a quick kiss and just like that she gets out of the car and runs toward her school.[on a separate note, at this point Ian normally says, "There goes our sweet little girl"].  I watch her over-sized Minnie Mouse backpack bounce against her light purple windbreaker until she gets a little closer to the entrance, and then I hurriedly get in the chaos of the school carpool lines trying to exit. I glanced back her direction a  few moments later though and just on the other side of the gate to the recess area,  I see Amy. With her big pirate (missing a tooth) grin she looks at me and waves, her blond ponytail bouncing and her eyes smiling.  I returned the wave and blew some kisses her way, grateful that I looked one more time and didn't miss those sacred seconds.

That's it. That moment said so much more to me than "See you later, Mom." It has been etched in my mind ever since, bringing a smile to my face all day.

Our little 1 year old!

 My baby boy is 1. Really? Could his birthday already have come and gone? Planning a formal party became overwhelming as it was the same day as the big Easter Egg Hunt, and I was having a hard time putting together an itinerary for that day. So, we ended up just singing to him and having him eat his candy with our family that was in town and at the house. We made our way over to Chuck E Cheese for our traditional birthday celebration. I'm not sure if he knew what was going on, but everyone else had fun, racking up over 1200 tickets playing the games (a family best . . . granted we had a lot more help).  

So here's a little bit about you, Nathan, on your 1 year old birthday
 (March 30):

Weight: 17.5 pounds (below the charts) Height 74 cm (~30 percentile)
 Head Circumference (~ 60 percentile)

Right now you have 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. 

You are the easiest baby (95% of the time) to put down for bed. As long as you have your white blanket (you'll grab it and rub the soft side against your face) and your index finger (which currently has blisters from the amount you suck on it at bedtime) you will not throw a single whimper while going to sleep. 

You have one volume when it comes to your voice, and that's an ear piercing scream which doesn't always make your mom or dad happy. If you want something and can't get it, you'll throw that scream out there, and it works. You get our attention!

You can clap when I ask you to. You point to things you want.

You have adorable dimples, and everyone comments about how cute they are. 

Your brothers and sisters dote on you. I'll find you all over the house because one of your siblings decided they want to move you closer to where they are playing. 

You love to eat Macaroni & Chees, and Pasta with red sauce. You can put away the food too. Sometimes you'll eat as much oatmeal or pasta as your older siblings. I'm still trying to figure out where you put all of it as you are pint-sized still.

You crawl and pull yourself up. You are just barely starting to cruise around furniture. 

You love to be outside. You love to swing. You are learning to throw things. We played a dice game a few days ago and you loved throwing the dice on the table. You also love to roll balls with your siblings.

When you hear music you'll dance to the beat.

Your eyes sparkle when you are happy. 

You still rarely sleep through the night but I'm happy that I'm only having to wake up 1 or 2 times a night. We still need to work on that :). 

Our family wouldn't be the same without you. We love all that you add and are grateful for your big presence. We love you so much!

Skiing

This last week we've been staying at a cabin near Huntsville, home of Snow Basin Ski Resort. In the spring, Snow Basin allows kids 6 and under to ski free, so we donned our snow gear for the very last time this season and took Amy and Ian for their first crack at skiing. It couldn't have been a nicer day. We skied in T-shirts. It's been since before Kenny and I were married that I've put on a pair of skis. I wasn't sure if I'd remember how but it came back pretty quickly ... Although my knees are sore from snow ploughing so much! Amy and Ian did awesome too. Our first run (down the bunny slope mind you) took an hour and a half! Yes. Too. Long. I was ready to take the kids home. But we mustered up the patience to go a second run and it was great. Every run they got better and better. Kenny thought they could handle a green run higher up the mountain so we ventured up there ... Probably not the best idea but it worked out in the end and we all made it down safe where we finished the day back where we were comfortable - on the bunny slope :). Here are some pictures of our adventure :

Simple Saturdays

 This morning we woke up to snow. Everywhere. Being the first week of spring, snow's not exactly what we hope for, but we made the best of it. All of us got decked out in our snow gear and played outside in the backyard. We played snow tag and had snowball fights.

It's so easy to just send the kids out to play and enjoy the quiet inside the house when they are out. I'll admit it took several requests before I reluctantly went out and played. There was so much I could and should have been doing inside. But playing with them today was a pleasure and a reminder that the simple things are sometimes the most memorable and rewarding. I felt rejuvenated after playing with them. It was quality time and reminded me what is most important in motherhood. Time. The kids loved it. And so did Kenny and I. 

When we're helping we're happy

Lately My sweet Amy has been noticing all I do as a mother. The other day she must have noticed i was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the chaos. While I was changing Rachel's diaper, listening to Nathan cry from his bed, and barking out orders for Ian to pick up his Trios off the living room floor Amy tenderly says ... "mom, I'm sorry you have to do so much work for us". It was in that moment when I was again grateful for my testimony and love of motherhood. I said to her, "Amy, I love being a mother. Sometimes it is hard work but I love doing it because I love you and Ian and Rachel and Nathan." I was grateful I could emphatically express my gratitude for this most important calling and so grateful for a kind daughter who at 6 years old is already noticing the needs and trials of others and who looks for ways to lift and help.

A few days later as I was clearing the table after dinner Amy decided she was going to be my right hand girl and help me without being asked. She busily helped take the dishes to the sink, but made it a point to hum a tune while she worked. This made my heart smile. She's done this several times and I know it's because she thinks of this primary song "when you're helping, you're happy ... And you SING as you go. For we like to help Mother, for we all love her so". I took her singing to mean that 1. Yes, she was deliberately helping me. 2. Yes, she was happy doing it. 3. Yes, she loved helping me. 4. Yes, she loved me. I'm so grateful for all of my sweet children.

I love family life