"Together, We Make a Family"

 A while ago (like Christmas 2011 or earlier), my parents gave us this vinyl word set for our wall to celebrate our marriage and blended family.  I thought it was perfect for our situation.

Yet, at the time, we were considering moving, did move, and I was pregnant, then I had V.  It just never got done.  I knew where I wanted it and I knew I wanted a picture of all of us from our wedding day.  Finally, today, I got it up.

I love it!

 It is in our piano room (on the Thankful wall, if you happen to know which wall that is).  Love it.  I want to keep this picture from our wedding day up, but I think I will add in small frames around it pictures of anyone that joins our family after our marriage (like V).  I also decided that a great way to do it would be to shrink down their blessing day photos.  Seems appropriate to me somehow.

As I got ready to take pictures, I realized that we have many that we love that have never seen our new home, so I took just a few more pictures, mainly of the piano room, not the rest of the house.

 This is our temple wall.  It is one of the first things to great you when you walk in our home.  We have a picture of Jesus and our most recent family picture, surrounded by pictures of every temple that CK and I have been together.  I love it!  I wish we could add to the wall more frequently....but other temples are kind of far and we have V to slow us down, also.

 These two hang on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.  The hope is that our kids will be able to see the Savior and focus on him before they leave for the day.

Finally, the pictures above our piano.  They also have recent photos, first the boys, then all the kids, then the girls.  How I love my home!  How I love my family!  I am so blessed!!!  So very blessed indeed!!

Blessings of Device-Free Night

 In our home, Wednesday evening is Device-Free Night.  That is why if you ever text or email me on Wednesdays, I probably will not respond until Thursday.  I love it.  No phone, Ipods, Kindle, etc. from 5-9 pm.  In theory, this allows a lot more family time.  Sometimes, we still have other things going on, but we are still device free.

Last night, J had been wanting to go to "The Field" to pick wildflowers for me.  So, I put V in the stroller and we walked over.  It was a beautiful night.  The wind was blowing softly, the sky was overcast, and it was beautiful.  As I watched J run amongst the flowers and V have the bluest eyes ever, I was wishing I had my camera.  I didn't.  I did not even have my phone to take some pictures.  As I pondered and regretted not having anything to take pictures with, I recognized this truth:  With the camera, I would have captured the pictures, but I would have missed the moments.  I thought of my Heavenly Father and His beautiful creations, I thought of how I loved my kids, I enjoyed the beautiful flowers that J brought me, and I relished the love J has for these flowers that he treasures.  I would have missed it if I checked my email, texts, or Facebook.  I am grateful for Device-Free.

Aren't they gorgeous still today?

 

 Also as part of Device-Free, I cut C's hair.  He had been asking me for a while.  He loves his long hair, but it is getting hot now and long hair makes it hotter.  So, we cut it.

Before:

 After:

 Look at that pile of hair in the trash!!!!  We cut off a lot!

And, finally, V is moving is moving so much.  She rolls anywhere and everywhere and she loves to do this "push-up" thing now.  Just today, she started figuring out to put her knees down.  I am guessing the crawling will come soon.  I am okay to wait, the rolling slows her down a little and she cannot roll up the stairs.  :)

And...tonight, K, J, V, and I are sitting here singing to Pandora on the toddler station.  We are having so much fun. We are dancing and singing and loving life!  How I love my kids!  I love these moments so much.  This is my first Pandora experience and I am enjoying it a lot.  CK and C are missing out (they are at C's baseball practice).

I am just so blessed.  So very blessed.  My life is amazing. I love it.  It is not perfect, but I love it.  :)

K Piano Recital

 Oh, how I love listening to K play the piano.  She has been taking piano now since summer 2010, so almost three years and she is good!  I love to hear her play.  I love the beautiful music that she produces.  I am so glad she has chosen to develop this talent.

 Tonight was her piano recital.  She did very well and it was beautiful, but boy was she nervous!  Particularly that now that she is one of the best students, she is one of the last students, so she has to wait the whole first hour before she plays.  She says she messed up a bunch, but I didn't hear it.  :)

 Here she after she finished - I think that is a look of relief on that beautiful face.

I do miss C taking piano lessons.  He chose to take private trumpet lessons instead.  He still plays the piano for fun at times and is skilled at both the piano and the trumpet.  He makes beautiful music too.

And, finally, our poor little V.  She isn't feeling great.  It is so sad and she is so sad.  The only cool thing is that she is not a cuddler, but because she is not feeling well, she is cuddly.  In the above picture, she actually was wide awake - I just caught her blinking or something.  I sure hope she feels better tomorrow.  I am expecting she will. 

I started out the day today still not feeling great, but I feel much better tonight.  I am up to 100%, but I am doing better and that is a relief.  That means I can focus all my energy on helping V tomorrow.

One last note:  CK is the most amazing husband ever.  I am so blessed to have him.  He took a few hours off today to take care of V and I.  He, without hesitation, took a neighbor boy over to the high school since he missed his bus.  This really warmed my heart.  He is so willing to serve - everyone.  He also gave me very thoughtful and unique gifts for Mother's Day.  He is amazing.  I am so blessed.

Mother's Day 2013

It is amazing to me what a great Mother's Day I have had.  As mentioned before, I am sick.  CK is sick.  The kids are not....fingers crossed that it stays that way.  I do feel sorry for CK as he planned so much to take care of me and he can barely move.

But, in the midst of it all - sick or not - I see my kids in a new light and that makes Mother's Day amazing.  My kids took care of their own breakfast.  They assigned each other tasks and then they all contributed to the breakfast and the clean-up while CK and I moaned on our separate couches.  I am so proud of them.  I am proud of them for having enough skills to take care of the fixing; I am proud of them for working together; I am proud of them for being so self-sufficient.

Then, for me, the best part was church.  I enjoy attending church and the uplift and strength it gives me for a new week.  Today church was not an option for either CK or I.  We kept V home, of course, as well.  But, for the older two, there wasn't even a question.  No begging to stay home.  No questioning whether they should go.  It seemed to not even cross their minds to exploit the situation and miss their church meetings.  They even encouraged J who was a little nervous about being at church without an adult.  I cannot describe how proud I am of them.  I am proud of their responsibility that I could trust them to be at church without sitting with another family.  I am proud of them for their righteous desires in attending.  I am proud of them for their maturity and abilities. 

I am lucky and blessed and lucky and blessed and we haven't even had presents yet.  My best present is the way my kids are growing and maturing.  I am a lucky Mama.

Sibling Swim

J has been wanting to put on his swim trunks and take a bath with V for a while.  Since I was giving her a bath on a Saturday afternoon, I figured that would be a good time and I surprised him by agreeing when he asked.  They had so much fun splashing and splashing.  It was cute.  I am so glad that they love each other.  I am so grateful to have V in our family.  I am grateful for J's desire to play with her and make her laugh.  It is a blessing to us.

We also got to leave V when we went on our date last night.  K is such a good babysitter.  We are lucky to have her.  We do pay her when she babysits - when we would have had to hire a sitter (like date night).  For times when we would have just taken the kids with us (like grocery shopping), she doesn't get paid.  It seems to work out well and it was so refreshing to be able to leave V while we went on our date.  We don't get time all the way alone often enough.

For our date, we first went to the driving range and I hit golf balls for the first time.  My form is horrid. I cannot seem to copy CK with my swing.  He said that I did a good job, however, for my first time.  Whether or not that is true, I had fun!  Then we went out to dinner.  We are worried that that is the source of our sickness that has kept CK up since 1:00 and me since 3:30.  Hmm.....

He's in Trouble

 Not really.  Actually not all, but these pictures look like mug shots.

I began a tradition when K was born of taking their "number days" each month to help document their growth on a month-by-month basis.  I have missed a few, especially during the divorce months, where I just didn't function the same.  It was a chore to get through some days, let alone remember and capture a "number day."  There have also been some lost as my computer lost some pictures and before digital, there might be some lost as well.   I don't think so, but maybe.

Anyhow, it was C's number day on Friday.  He came and held his number like this:

 I am not sure if he thought I would actually take the picture, but since I did, we did the whole series of mug shots:

 And, finally, my handsome C with his handsome smile.  Can you believe that he is almost twelve!?!?  Look at that number....142 months of life!

I love you, C.  I am so glad you are a part of our family.  You hold a very special place in our home.  You are so loving to your siblings.  You are so talented in so many ways.  You are a good example to others.  I am blessed to have you as my son.

Sports Saturday

Saturday was a busy one for our family.  It began with C's first baseball game ever.  He wasn't interested at all in the sport until last year.  He has had exactly 1/2 of one formal practice in his whole life.  I wasn't sure how this first game might go. 

Here he is at the beginning of the game:  playing third base.  His team is obviously still learning a lot and it was a struggle of a game.  But...in this first inning:  C caught a ball for an out.  It was so cool and the grin on his face was priceless!!!

 K, J, V, and I had to leave only partially in to C's game so that we could get J to his game on time.  C's was at 9:30, J's was at 10:30, but the drive between the two locations is about 30 minutes.

CK stayed with C.  When he got up to bat, he not only hit the ball, he got an RBI, and, after stealing 2nd and 3rd, scored one of his team's two runs.  :)  Not bad.  Not bad at all for his first game ever!  :)

 It was bright and sunny at J's game with the sun coming right into our eyes, so I wasn't sure what pictures I would get.

 My nephew was also playing at the same time, but on a different field.  We went over to say "hi" to them during half time.  C and CK then made it to J's game.  I love the above picture of C sitting in this little pink chair.  :)

After the game, we went together to Pizza Hut with my sister and her kiddos.  (Thanks Mom and Dad K for the gift certificate!  We loved it!)

V ate sweet potatoes and munched on the crusts.  She gets such joy out of self feeding.  She has realized that she can do it by herself and loves it.

 C and my nephew, S.

 Here are our three boys, all in uniform.  It is great!  :)

 J, with my niece C.

 K with my niece, E.

 My niece, T.

 When we got home, C showed off his swing:

 And, here are my two boys in uniform:

 I love this picture:  They switched sports.  It is classic.

All-in-all, we had a great Saturday.  I love being Mom.  I love getting to watch my children play sports, play piano, sing, draw, act, or whatever else they choose to do.  I love the joy it brings them and I love the growth they experience.  At this moment, I am so thankful for the good men that volunteer their time to teach my boys and coach their teams.  It is a sacrifice for which I am so grateful.

Indeed, we are blessed.

Sick!

CK and I are sick.  Praying it was food poisoning from dinner last night so the kiddos can't catch it.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

J's 7th Field Day

Yesterday was J's 7th field day, but it was his first one that he got to participate in.  He was so excited!  He has been watching field days since he was V's age.  Every year at least two field days and FINALLY, one for him!   (The two came first from both K and C, but I also went each year to the field days for the girls that I mentored.)  He was always such a good sport, but it was so refreshing to have him get to participate.  Now it is V's turn to watch.  :)  She will have 6 of them before she starts Kindergarten also. 


As you know, I loved, loved, loved the elementary school where K and C went.  Loved it.  But, last year we moved.  That means that J started at a different elementary school.  I love it!  Love it!  Love it!  The school is amazing.  They are so organized and so family-oriented.  I love being there and I love what this school does for the kids.  We are so blessed.

 Here he is ready to go- swim trunks and all.  :)

 The weather pulled a fast one on us.  It started out warm and the hourly prediction is that it would continue to warm up.  It was a little foggy, but nothing else.  Hmmm....that is not how it ended up being.  It got colder and colder.  The funny thing was I almost grabbed a jacket for V, but decided that I am always the over-prepared mom and I decided to go with the weather forecast and brought sunscreen, but no jacket.


Right away I had her snuggled up in her blanket in the stroller.  At least she was smiling!

 First, J waled on these stilt cups.  It was hard for him, but it was hard for all the Kindergarteners.

 Next they did a wet-sponge-over-the-head relay.  They were soooooooooooo cold after this!  All of them were shivering and shivering.

 Luckily, the over-prepared in me had brought a towel for J that not only dried him off, but warmed him up.

 V did so well.  We were there for about three hours and she just was amazing, especially for having me awaken her early, change her, and put her in her car seat.  Here she is chilling and drinking her morning bottle.

 They had 16 stations.  This was one of their favorites - an obstacle course bounce house.  It was hard to get pictures of them, they were moving so fast while jumping and the obstacles were in the way.

 Another one was balloon volleyball, modified for Kindergarten.  Some of the 8th graders from the middle school had been asked to help with this field day.  These young men stood on one side of the net and tossed the balloons over for the Kindergarteners to catch.  It was so sweet to watch them on their patience, as well as how well planned this was for this age group.  By now, the rain had begun and everything and everyone was wet.

 I love J's face of concentration in the above picture.

 When it began to rain kind of hard, I pulled out the hat I had for V to protect her from the sun (HA!) and put J's towel over the stroller and really tried to keep her dry.  She seems to be having a good time in her little cave.

 What would a field day be with a sack race?

 They were throwing sponges for another water game.  I just loved catching the throwing action in this picture.

 The rain turned into sprinkles and V was tired.  She fussed a little, but I rocked her in my arms until she fell asleep.  I then was able to put her back in the stroller.  It did mean that I wasn't able to take pictures of a few of the events.  That is just fine.  We have plenty!

 This was a fun one where they had to run with these pizza boxes AND jump hurdles.  It was cute.  I especially loved the action that I caught with this picture as he leaped the hurdle.

 The sun is coming out finally (for only the last three events), but you can finally see the shadows!

 I included a series of pictures with this event, since the pure joy on their faces is priceless as they try to keep that ball from touching the ground.  :)

 And, a V update....she spit out her pacifier, and was raising her hand (while sleeping).

 Tire rolling.

Last event...This one was supposed to be with the buckets overhead, but since it was the last event, they let the kids choose.  I think this was because they would be headed inside and might not want to be sopping wet.

And this is how V ended the day.  This is the back of the stroller.  It is hard to visualize, but she is sticking her hand out the back of the stroller (still sleeping).  It is super cute.

What a great morning.  I am so lucky that I get to be a mom.  So lucky.  I love each of my kids so very much.  Love them.  I am so blessed.  I have a good life.