K is in varsity choir at high school. As such, they get asked to sing the national anthem at different sporting events. They sing acapella and it is beautiful. I am so glad that I got to go and listen to her sing.
These are some random pictures. As long as I am blogging and as long as the babies are sleeping, I may as well include these as well.
Okay, so I am NOT a seamstress. I do have a great love for quilting. I rarely, as in almost never, get to do anything with sewing and fabric and quilting. My dear, beloved sister, is having a baby boy. I wanted to make something for him that came from my heart.
I cheated a little. I bought the fabrics all bundled together, so I did not have to choose which fabrics or which pattern to use. I did still have to do all the cutting and all the sewing, but the choosing was done. The cool thing is I began this quilt on Monday night. Thursday night was my sister's shower. And, miracle of miracles, it was done. It definitely is not perfect. There are a lot of imperfections to it. But, it was done.
One thing I can learn from this is that if I want to make time for something, I can. I consider myself quite busy. I have many places to be and many people to tend to ( yet again....
six children). But, I was able to spend the time necessary to accomplish this task. This proves to me that if I want to do something, I can. In this case, it combined something I wanted to do for myself (quilt) with doing something for someone I love ( making it for my sister's shower).
So, I opened my own salon on Saturday. Not really, of course. But, I did give all four of my boys haircuts. This includes Baby C. His hair was getting so long. It was time. He will be a year next week. Part of me loves the new look, but part of me misses the beautiful baby hair. It also is another first that I will never have again. He is my last baby. And, he is getting so big. He appears to be relatively close to walking. I am actually excited for this milestone. It will be so much easier to take my littles to the park together. Actually, a number of things when they can both walk will be easier. So, isn't he handsome? I am blessed to be his Mom.
My dear friend, G has a birthday today. V, Baby C, and I got to take her out to lunch. We also got to spend time with her amazing husband. I am so grateful that we are friends. She has taught me so much about unfailing love for all. She has taught me about how to persevere through hard times. She has taught me about being true to your testimony even when it isn't easy. I am grateful for her and I am grateful that we were able to spend time together today. She is a busy lady. I am a busy lady. The times that we are able to get together are cherished.
In other news, I continue to work hard at making sure this blog is updated. These are my children. This is my life. I want to document it. I love the photos and I love reading about my thoughts from past months and years. I will continue to work on keeping this blog a priority. The reality still continues to be, however, that I have six children. I also have MS. These things mean that I usually choose to spend my time doing something else. I absolutely love being a mom. I love each one of my children. I cherish the various stages that they are at right now. These stages do mean a lot of driving and a lot of being there for them at their individual events. But, I want to be the mom that is there. I want them to know that if they look up in the stands they will see Mom. I am so very blessed.
We had a day off school on Monday. We got to celebrate Martin Luther King junior. I am grateful that my kids have gotten to learn about this great man. I'm thankful for his peaceful courage that allowed this country to change.
So, Baby C has taken to waking up every morning at 5 am. The good news is this means he has been sleeping until 5 am. The bad news is that I have been frustrated at not having my exercise time, my shower time, my get breakfast ready time, or my prep for the day time.
He and I had a deal that he would sleep until 6:15 this morning. Nope. 5:15 and he was up. But, as I sat there nursing him, I was struck by what a blessing this time is. I love my babies. I love cuddles. The babies grow. The time holding them is fleeting. Exercise, showers, breakfasts, dishes, and so forth will be there in the coming days, months, and years. Cuddling my baby won't. How lucky I am to have these 5 am moments!!!!!!! In addition to just loving this time, I realized that I rarely get time with just Baby C. With six children, and the busyness of our lives, I really cherish this individual time with my baby.
And, similarly, even though him not being weaned is a little frustrating, what a blessing that I still get to nurse him!!!!! V had to have formula to help her grow and soon didn't nurse. With my MS, we were told he'd need to be weaned shortly. He refused. So we let him nurse....and I have been blessed with outstanding health. A few months ago - I never would have guessed this was possible. What a blessing!
V's airplane:
Noah (as in Noah's Ark) is pilot.
Passengers are: a farmer, a pirate, a firefighter, three little boys, & a police officer.
I just want to remember it.
My good friend, E, and her little guy, A, came over for a visit today. I am so glad. I enjoyed visiting with her. Because of the busyness of life, I do not spend time with my friends like I used to. I cherish my friends, but I don't see them or talk to them very often.
I have new friends, I have old friends. I have far away friends, I have close by friends. I feel very blessed that I have so many friends in this world. Getting together with E today reminded me of how much I treasure these women. Every one of them are women of faith and strength. We are not all of the same religion, but we all believe in our Savior Jesus Christ.
I am so blessed.
In other news, life keeps being busy. C had a basketball tournament and made it to the championship game, although his team lost. We are planning a trip to St Louis in March, a trip to Boston in May, & a trip to Salt Lake in April. It looks to be a very busy few months indeed.
As far as my health goes, I cannot complain. The stress and the busyness of the holidays definitely showed, but what is "bad" for me now, is really not much at all. I've had some weakness, some numbness, some loss of balance, and my eye is sometimes worse again. It has never been as bad as it got, however. For that, I am very grateful. All I know, I have a good life and I am happy.
CK and I took the littles and went out to lunch. Aside from it being freezing cold, it was a great way to spend a Friday lunch. We love to spend time together.
Baby C fell asleep on the way home. He was even so asleep that I was able to take his jacket off without him waking up. I held him for a few moments before taking his jacket off, just cherishing this time with him as a baby in my arms. Even the sweet potatoes still around his mouth are endearing and cute.
As mentioned before, my babies are growing up. I love watching them grow and mature, but I do miss the moments that are already gone. Sometimes having so many children means that I don't always notice the moments with each individual child. We are a busy family. Very busy. But, I do cherish each moment with each child. Most are not captured with the camera, but most are captured with my heart. No matter the various trials that come in and out of my life, I have a wonderful family and for that I am so blessed.
My Little Baby C is growing so fast. He is almost not a baby anymore. He loves to walk. He loves to push his toy and walk along behind it. His hair is so long. I just haven't had the courage and the time to cut it yet.
I feel so lucky that he came to our family.he bring such joy to all of us. What a great way to complete our family!
He is finally learning to eat more food. Thank goodness! By this age, he should be eating a lot more than he does. But he has his own personality. He has very strong opinions about what he wants what he doesn't want and what you will eat and what he won't eat.
I need to document something that was very funny that happened a couple days ago. I was sitting on the couch and I noticed that the time was 1:23. A few years ago, before CK and I were even married, I had all the kids, including A at the house. I don't remember if it was raining or what was going on, but all the kids were stir crazy and a little bit grumpy. In an effort to be silly and when I noticed that the time was 12:34, I shouted, " 1 2 3 4 on the clock, on the clock.". I waved my hands and pointed at the clock. It has become something that all the kids remember and talk about. A in particular loves it when the clock says 1234.
So, with that background, I said, "123 on the clock on the clock.". V thought about it for a minute, and then replied, " What in the world????!!!"
It was so funny. We all laughed so hard. V got a little bit embarrassed with all of our laughing. It was just perfect timing.
