i love holiday weekends

Especially when they involve parades,


BBQs with friends,






and my favorite cake (which I will probably eat for breakfast).



Plus we planted our garden and I am so excited to see what grows....

Hope you had a great weekend too!

what's in a name?

Jack likes to play cars.

He usually has a car that is his favorite. His first love was a black truck. This was about a year ago. He started asking for it specifically. He wanted to sleep with it, take it places, and carry it around. I always had a mental note of where it was at all times. Then it broke. And he didn't play favorites for a while.

A few months ago "Jacky the Color Truck" came along. Don't ask me where it came from. It was a little beat up. But Jacky the Color Truck was the new favorite. But whether because of his mysterious disappearance or the appeal of something a little flashier, Jacky the Color Truck was replaced.

Meet Yellow-Like (pronounced "Lellow-like" if you want to get technical):


Yellow-Like goes everywhere with us. The park, the grocery store, quiet time, the library, play group, etc.


Today we were playing outside with Yellow-Like. We have a small alley/driveway behind our house. Jack tripped and fell down. He got a little scrape on his knees which I promptly kissed better and he was fine. Then he took a look at Yellow-Like.

"Clean him off, Mom. Yellow-Like is dirty."

"Actually Buddy, Yellow-Like's paint is scratched. I can't clean him up."

And then the real tears started to flow. Of and on for the next 15 minutes, Jack kept crying over Yellow-Like's scratch:


We finally convinced him that Yellow-Like still worked, and that this way he knows which yellow car is his.

He's back to being happy with this favorite tonight, and it is upstairs tucked in bed with the little boy.

Today was one of those days when I really felt like time was slipping from me and my kids won't be little forever. I love to see Jack's little hands wrapped around a his car. It is one of those things that I wish I could capture on camera that never looks as wonderful as the way I see it. But I still wanted to remember this little moment.

today

Today was one of those days where my kids found it necessary to yell everything. Jack was annoyed with, and therefore tried to sabotage, everything anyone Ana did. If she wanted to dance, he laid down in the middle of the floor right in her way. And most of the time he was saying something like, "Don't do the dishes, Mommy.... Don't take a shower, Mommy.... Don't drink your juice, Ana." And while running errands, the kids were all over the place.

It was overall an exhausting Mommy day. Some days are like that I guess. Days when a hot shower and a few minutes of silence can work magic. I may become an evening shower-er. There is something about the quiet house that makes a shower infinitely more enjoyable. Without the threat of children coming in crying, or telling you to get out, or throwing their bath toys in to annoy you...

Speaking of showers, have you heard? This spring has been rainy. Ana has started lamenting it. ("Rain, again!!!" She'll say when she wakes up.) Then I remind her she can use her umbrella. Then I send them outside and happily ignore my housework while I watch them play in it.

conversations

Me: Jack, don't pick your nose.

Jack: I'm not Mom. My finger just wants to look at my boogers.

sister's weekend

It was so much fun to see all (but 2) of my sisters this weekend. Time Out for Women was inspiring and uplifting. I felt more motivated to think positively and to strive to be more calm and holy. It was wonderful!

Our hotel was right across from the Oklahoma City Thunder arena. Maybe no one else thinks this is cool, but since I've been following the playoffs, and since I like Kevin Durant, I thought it was.


We walked a little around OK City on Saturday evening. We went to a botanical garden that was still under construction (we were underwhelmed, but when it is done, it will be cool) and to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial (which was way cooler than I expected).

(working it for the camera!)

As girls we chatted about all things serious and silly, ate delicious mexican food, swam in the hotel pool, and stayed up way too late. I came away impressed with each of my sisters as they strive to be good mothers (where applicable) and daughters of God. What a wonderful family I come from!


And now for a challenge for anyone reading this: put the 7 of us in age order. Ready, Go!


I got home late Sunday night, and the kids were excited to see me Monday morning. I missed 'em, but I was so glad I went. Everything was neat and tidy when I returned, and the kids loved having Daddy all to themselves. We need to make this an annual or bi-annual (every 2 years) event!

friday the thirteeneth

I've never been superstitious. But after this last Friday, I think I might start.

At 11 o'clock a.m., after a late night and an early morning, resulting in only 6 hours of sleep, I entered the Burlington airport to meet most of my sisters and my mom in Oklahoma City for Time Out for Women. I have a sister that lives there, and my mom and dad were making a drive out to visit, so the rest of us decided to join the fun for a sisters weekend.

My first flight was uneventful, except for the couple in front of me that made out whole time. I even had a very pleasant conversation with my seat mate. It occurred to me as I was leaving the plane that two hours in close proximity results in sharing some very personal life experiences to a complete stranger. But I digress.

I got to Detroit. My flight was scheduled to leave at 3:20. At 3:10 we were told there was a delay. At 4, we were told we would be leaving at 5:45. At 5:45, my flight was canceled.

So there I was: tired, 6 months pregnant, and stuck in a strange city. The airline gave me the following options:

*try to get on the 7:47 flight on standby (not very promising prospects)
*stay the night in Detroit and get to OK by 2 the next day.
*go back to Burlington on the 9:47 flight and forget the whole thing.

None of these options sounded very appealing to me.

After lots of phone calls to Dave and to my sisters, a few tears, and lots of deep breaths, we found another option: I could fly to Tulsa, 2 hours from OK city, and then rent a car and drive the rest of the way. My parents would not hear of me driving all that way by myself, so instead it was settled that my dad would come and pick me up.

I spent 6 hours in the Detroit airport that day. While 6 months pregnant. And after only 6 hours of sleep. 6-6-6. On Friday the 13th.

The devil was in the details, I tell you.

The sight of my dad sitting in the Tulsa airport was a welcome sight. I finally reached the hotel at 11:30, and what a wonderful sight it was to see so much of my family. I told Dave that someday he would drive 5 hours to rescue one of his daughters, and that she would love him for it!

Coming up later this week: the rest of my fabulous weekend.

since you've been gone

We've done a few fun things to make our time without Erin a little more bearable (all pictures were taken with my cell phone camera since our real camera is with Erin):

We rode the bus to Church Street.


Where we used the kids' coupons for free ice cream from Ben and Jerry's. Jack got chocolate and Ana got a special mashup thing with vanilla, fresh strawberries, granola, and whip cream. I had my favorite flavor Late Night Snack.


Then we found some cool straws that were also glasses.


And we got Ana some new flip flops for Ana. They were $3.50, but a lady gave us a half off coupon. So, they were $1.75. When we took this picture she said, "Smells like Old Navy."


You can see Ana's name tag in the last picture. It was from the neighborhood spring BBQ this afternoon. It was good.

Only one more day without Erin!

i have no response to that*

Jack cracks me up. For a not-quite-3-year-old, he has quite the vocab. Some examples:

"I am preparing to go down the slide, Mom."

"Water is a liquid, so when I'm in the bath, I'm in a liquid."

In prayer today: "bless mama that when she gets sick she can feel better."

Prior to sliding down the slide: "1-2-3 SUPERSLIDE!"

"Ana, that is unacceptable!"

When I took away a toy for time out: "But that's a time out activity."




Ana on the other hand, is just full of questions. I thought when she started this at age 2 that it was just a phase, but she just keeps asking. Questions Ana has asked me recently:

"How does a yellow dandelion turn into a white dandelion?"

"What if when I get to kindergarten other kids make fun of me?"

"Who created Heavenly Father?"

"Who was the first person to ever get a cold?"

"How do they make (fill in the blank with anything you can see.)...?"

These are just the most baffling questions. She asks about a hundred a day. I feel blessed and overwhelmed to be their Mama.


*name that movie

dirt pit

We have a community garden behind our house. I am very excited about this. I can't wait to grow peas and tomatoes and zucchini and pumpkins this summer. The other day they plowed the garden, so what a better play zone for the kids for a couple days.

I promise I will never complain about the heat this summer. After such a long winter and rainy, cool, breezy spring, I just want to be warm! And it is taking a long time to get here. The kids didn't seem to mind though.

happy mother's day

I heard it once said that if life were compared to a year, with the seasons of life following in pattern, that the time of young parenthood was the summer: the time when we sweat and toil in the hot sun, putting in all the effort in hopes of a good harvest in the future.

I've reflected on that often over the last few days. Summer happens to be my favorite season of the year. I love the hot sun, the hours spent outside, the green vibrant world, the warm summer rains, and, yes, even the work. It seems to breathe life into me.

Such is motherhood. We sweat and toil, yes. But the moments are also filled with bursts of happiness and joy. And the hope of a bountiful harvest keeps us working at it.

Thanks to a wonderful mother who did so well raising a houseful of future mothers, to a wonderful mother-in-law who I love and admire so much, and to countless other wonderful women who have inspired me to be better.

Happy Mother's Day!

mother's week: trusting me

Last night I was talking to a good friend of mine on the phone. Conversation turned to our kids, and the struggles and challenges that we have as mothers of young, strong-willed children. There are so many questions, and what works for one mom and kid doesn't always work for another. From the time they are babies: Do you let them cry it out? Sleep train or go with the flow? They get sick; do you take them to the doctor or wait it out? Then there is potty training and behavior issues. Is my kid ADD/autistic/diabetic/whatever else that I recently heard about? How do I get them to stop biting their friends/whining about everything? How do I teach them to be hard workers? Am I doing this right?

The list goes on and on.

Sometimes I think motherhood is hard. And it is hard. But I think as mothers sometimes we make it harder than it needs to be. We have a tendency as mothers to compare kids, parenting styles, homes, clothes, hobbies, talents, energy levels and roll it all up and label mothers (especially ourselves) as "bad" parents.

And we often forget to trust ourselves. We are mothers. We know our children. And we have access to divine help from the only Being who knows our children better than we do.

When I look at mothers that I admire, I see women who did just that. Women who trusted themselves and embraced motherhood: my mother, my mother-in-law, my church leaders, and many other mothers in my life.

I still love chatting with friends and hearing that I am not alone in this journey. That there are other mothers asking questions and struggling to know what to do. And I think prayers and questions can be answered by friends who have done this before (or are doing it now).

But I'm learning to trust myself, too. I think we all should a little more.

mother's week: day 3 - a word about my mother

My mom is practical. And faith-full. I think this must have been what got her through all those years of moving while my dad was in the Air Force. Whenever you ask "how did you do it?", she answers, "There was nothing else to do. I just did because that was life."

And that is how she is with everything. I know that there were several years while I was growing up that my parents struggled financially. But my mom never complained about anything. She never talked about how she couldn't buy new clothes or furniture or whatever else or that they didn't have money for Christmas. She just dealt with whatever came. She still does. I'm sure she has her worries, but it doesn't really show. She goes along, doing her duties: to the church, to her job, and mostly to her children.

I didn't think much about it until recently, but I'm really grateful for this example. Being taught by this example I have learned to be frugal. I have learned to deal with challenges with faith. I have learned that complaining doesn't really help anything. These lessons have made life easier.

The other day I called and asked how to get a certain 4 year old to clean up her room and to not empty her drawer every day (onto her floor) when looking for clothes to wear. "Do those things with her," she answered. Such an obvious, practical solution. And you know what? It worked.

So, thanks, Mom.

mother's week: day 2 - on being a wife

Six years ago (also on a Tuesday) Dave and I got married.



I had no idea then that over the next 6 years I would have 3 miscarriages and 2 1/2 children, or that I would have lived in Rupert for 2 years during which time we would both have appendectomies and we would live in a crummy little house that's circuit breaker went out if I vacuumed with the heaters on, or that I would move across the country for Dave to go to med school.

I did know that I would be happy with Dave, though. And though sometimes my less-than-desirable qualities come out, we still love each other very much.

I am always bothered with commercials and sitcoms that portray men/husbands as bumbling idiots that need rescued/redeemed by their wife. That isn't how relationships should work. It certainly isn't how ours works. Dave is kind. He is smart. He is logical. He is a fabulous parent. He is calm.

Men and women have different abilities and divine roles. Recently I heard said that the husband is the head of the home and the wife is the heart. I love that in so many ways. Biologically, the brain and the heart cannot work without the other. Metaphorically, the head is the symbol of logic and the heart is the symbol of emotions. How true that is in a marriage! I am a feeler. Dave is a thinker. I want affirmation; Dave wants to find solutions. I worry and wonder; Dave deals with situations as they come. I am emotional; Dave is logical. I think that this is part of the miracle of marriage. These differences, though sometimes they cause conflict, ultimately are what make a family wonderful.

We need each other. Men and women need each other. "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Cor. 11:11).


For fun, here is a sampling of pictures we've taken each year on May 3rd.

2006: I was 6 months pregnant.

2007: I went to Provo with my sisters on our anniversary, but I saw this cool double rainbow on the way. (I may have been pregnant with my 2nd miscarriage.)

2008: 8 months pregnant with Jack.

2009: We just bought this truck. We loved that truck...

2010: Ana got a new bike! (I was pregnant then, too. Miscarried a month later.)
No pictures yet this year, but I am pregnant again.

And now we're going out to eat and furniture/lamp store browsing for our date. Here's to many more years together.

mother's week: day 1 - random thoughts

I've had the topic of "womanhood" on my mind lately. Specifically, what is our role as women and daughters of God? I've been studying and thinking and pondering. Society portrays images of women and families that are vastly different from what I believe.

I believe that the most important role a woman can have is that of a mother.

I believe that men and women bring different and complementary qualities into a relationship and that we need each other reach our full potential.

I believe that our bodies are sacred and that principles of modesty and virtue are vitally important to our happiness.

As a mother of 1 1/2 daughters, I feel the weighty responsibility to instill these beliefs into them. I wonder how to teach them to be both strong and gentle, to value education and motherhood, to both want a family and know that their worth is not contingent on whether or not they are married.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read, "well-behaved women rarely make history." As I thought of that quote, I decided they have it all wrong. Well-behaved women are the ones that shape history the most. In scripture, we have Eve, Ruth, Esther, and ultimately, Mary, the mother of Christ. All were well-behaved women of significant influence.

I think I'd rather be a well-behaved woman.

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?" (source)

Over the next few days, in honor of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share some experiences and thoughts on motherhood and womanhood and families. I'd like to hear your thoughts too.