I LOVE Mother's day! It was so awesome this year! As usual. The kids woke me up with the Happy Mother's Day song, and breakfast in bed. Nate decided to just bring everyone's breakfast since everyone usually ends up eating it, and so we all had breakfast in Mom and Dad's bed :). So fun. They showered me with gifts. I love reading their cute little homemade cards and seeing all the work they put into the gifts they made at school. This year some of them got me treats and other gifts at the store too. I think my favorite part this year was before presents, while we were eating, Nate had the kids go around and tell what they love about me :). It was so cool to hear things other than that I cook for them. And not that I don't appreciate that, it's just cool to know that there are other things :). My heart skipped a little beat at some of their answers, "that you love me" -Luke, "that you care about me" -Bradley, "that you play with me" -Noah. I can't put all of their answers but sweet right?! It was comforting for me to know that they know I love them. That is my main goal as a Mom. Sure made my day. We slowly got ready for church. I love this ward's tradition of feeding the Mom's some yummy food during the first hour. Such a great time!! I sat and talked with Emily and the new lady, already forgot her name... Sis. Porter :). Then finally had a chance to pick Liesl's brain about Common Core. I respect her opinion. I feel much better about it all now. I hate feeling like I am just misinformed and that's why I'm not ranting and raving like everyone else. I'm really okay with Common Core and now I feel like that's okay :). Sunday School was great- we're going to the Marriage and Family Relations class again. It's been about 7 years, but we really loved it the first time. Hopefully it picks up a little and people start commenting and stuff... that was where we got the most in the Russian Jack Ward. Sacrament meeting was wonderful as well. I just love the motivation of Mother's Day accompanied with the happiness that I have been blessed with children and that I do get to be a Mom in this life. It's such a great blessing. I know I'm not perfect, and I know that there are things I can work on, but it's nice to feel so much love from the people who I live for and know that I still have time to become the mom that they need. Chocolate doesn't hurt either :). We decided not to go up to the Family Meeting this year. We spent the day at home! It was so heavenly. I played cards with the kids a lot, made yummy meatballs, Heidi and John stopped on their way home from Idaho... it was just a great day. It's been a while since I really got to just sit around and enjoy being a mom on Mother's day. It's usually all about Nate's Mom. And that's okay, I just enjoyed the change. I love my kids so much! I'm so grateful that I get to experience life through their eyes and have their shining examples constantly lighting the way for me. I'm especially grateful that Nate has made it so that I get to be at home with them. I can't imagine life otherwise. 5-11-14
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, RUTH
To celebrate with Ruth, we took her and Russ out to dinner. She chose Litza's (of course :) ). I absolutely love spending one on one (or 2 on 9 whatever it is) time with them. I love that the kids get their undivided attention, they get to talk with them and get to know them, and likewise, the kids get to know their grandparents. It's so different with the whole family around. Watching Nate and his dad talk, and listening to Nate's mom teach the kids... it's just so heavenly. We really need to do it more than once or twice a year. Sounded like she had a nice Mother's day. 5-12-14
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY MOM
I gave my mom the choice of us visiting her on Sunday, or going out to lunch later on in the week. She chose lunch! So Tuesday we got to go to Cafe Rio, just my Mom and me. It was great! I think it's been a few years since we did that. Good times. 5-13-14
PRICELESS
RS night this week was a guest speaker. I forgot his name already, but he is a family therapist. What a great evening that was. That whole meeting was made for me! The night before, Nate and I had come to the conclusion that our kids needed help building up their self-esteem. You can imagine the thrill I felt when the speaker decided, among SEVERAL other topics that had been suggested and written on the board, that he would focus on "self-esteem"! What a blessing! I got chills just hearing him announce his choice. It was an incredible meeting. I hope I can remember it all and teach my kids about their pricelessness. It's cool to think that innately we all know our worth and that if we can just tap into that, we can conquer so much more. I loved the meeting. I loved the reminders. And chatting with everyone afterwards was pretty great too. I love my ward. 5-13-14
CRAZY DAY
After finalizing my 2010 blog book (yay!!!) I've realized that some of my favorite posts are the ones where I talk about a bad/busy/hard day that I somehow managed to survived (and unfortunately there are a lot of them :) ). I realized how far I've come! I look back at those days, four years ago, and just laugh. Life was so much simpler :). Yet at the time.... So anyway- I guess I wanted to post about my most recent crazy day so that in a few years, I might be able to look back and think that these days were so easy and that I've come yet another long way :). It helps to think that one day this will seem like nothing. It's also motivating to know that even though things are going to get harder- I will be able to adapt and overcome it! Just like I have in the past. SO here's my crazy day: Wednesday, May 14, 2014: 6:00 wake up- I'm not waking up at 5:00 this week because I slept in everyday for almost 2 weeks since Nate was home... it was an awesome 2 weeks, but I destroyed some of my best habits, so we're doing 6:00 this week to ease back into things :). Shower, Scriptures, Get kids up, Breakfast, Lunches and a little laundry. 8:30 Charity's dentist appointment- trouble tooth pulled- wahoo! and we didn't even have to trick her into anything! She laid right down on the chair and toughed it all out like a champ! Go Charity! PROGRESS!! Ran to the store for Kelly's "birthday" treat then dropped her off, came home for a minute with Nate and a few dishes. 10:00 Visiting teaching- this ended up being my one relaxing moment of the day- just sitting in Diane's beautiful backyard visiting. I love visiting teaching! Back home, changed up the laundry, then took Noah to the dentist at 11:30. Found out that you can actually pay someone a dentist wage to pull popcorn kernels out of someones teeth... how embarrassing... he did have a cavitiy too, but Dr. Swan things the pain was from the kernels... rats. Came home for lunch and a little Erika drama. Then checked out our latest sproutings in the garden and flower beds... so fun! Nate and I have been sharing a strawberry at a time as we find ripe ones in the patch :). I am loving the whole gardening thing this year. Although I feel like I'm stretching my faith to some serious lengths. Knowing that these things can't possibly grow because of us... we're such amateurs... Little green miracles are popping up out of the ground though and that makes me happy :). Nate left at 1:30 for work and then we left at 1:45 to take Kelly's ice cream sandwiches and then checked out Charity for her eye doctor appointment. While we were sitting in that tiny little office and echo-y room, I had flashbacks of her appointment 2 years ago when I thought I wasn't going to make it through that little appointment with all my children still alive :). Thankfully we did NOT relive that experience. On the contrary, the kids did really well. Even Jack. I was pleased and felt that feeling of moving on :). That stage was over I guess :). Charity picked out some cute frames, we will all be seeing a new Charity in a couple of weeks when they are done. She's hoping they are done before school gets out. We'll see! On our way home we stopped at Walmart for some things I'd forgotten for the Widdison's dinner, and then Little Caesar's since I'd failed to get dinner in the crock pot earlier... darn that not thinking ahead! We got home, put the Lasagna in the oven, cut up some fruit for dinner (we're doing so good at eating all 5 of our fruits and veggie servings!), sat and watched a little tv with the girls, then it was off to deliver dinner, and then to my YW meeting. Charity was in charge during my meeting, then Kelly was in charge during the actual activity. What an insane rush those last few hours were. Course our activity totally made up for it, I watched the Mia Maids make garbage bag dresses and just about died laughing. That was the funniest thing I've experienced in a very long time... those girls are HILARIOUS!! It was a nice end to my crazy busy day. I screwed up on picking up the kids from school and Kelly ended up having to get a ride with Stacey since she had waited for Noah who had stayed home from school. I will count that as one less drop of awesome in my bucket for the day :). I survived!! 5-14-14
HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY!!!
We celebrated our 13th Anniversary on Thursday! That was a really nice day. Nate wasn't home during the day, so we just sent each other little love texts throughout the day :). But Nate surprised me with not one, but TWO bouquets of flowers!! He said he wanted to get roses because that's what you do, but he thought I would really like this other one too because it had so many of my favorite new daisies in it :). What a sweetheart. He knows me! I love it when I realize how well he knows me. I love the flowers! There's something really wonderful about looking at them and knowing why they're here :). He's always so thoughtful. We hurried and ate some Chicken Enchiladas, then rushed off to Luke's baseball game. Heidi and John showed up to watch as well, that was a fun surprise! Luke's team won again, then we played a little baseball together before we left. When we got home I gave Nate his present- some yummy Mrs. Cavannaugh's Chocolate covered caramels :). mmmmm. He shared :). We ditched everyone including Heidi and John and went out on the town :). Just kidding, it was already almost 10:00 so most of my plans (it was my year to plan) had been out of the question, so we decided to go to Yogotogo for some yumminess, and then picked up Saratov Approach at Walmart along with some much needed groceries (we didn't do our biweekly shopping so we've been scrambling for meals everyday... lesson learned). We came home and watched our movie and cuddled :). I love cuddling :). It was a great day. I LOVE Anniversaries. I love thinking, "What were we doing at this time 13 years ago...?" and remembering that day. It was such an awesome day. So many things to look back on. It's funny to think about how little we knew each other back then. Sadly, but true, I don't think we really knew each other at all :). But it's fun to think about how much love we had for each other only to realize how much deeper that love is now. It's such a different kind of love. Makes ya wonder what our love will be like in a million years... "eternity won't seem that long cuz time will fly when it's you and I.... together". aaahhh. I'm so happy I chose Nate. I'm so happy he chose me and that he chooses me again every day. He's mine forever. 5-15-14
BIRTHDAY TABLES
Kelly's birthday table this week. Fun stuff! We actually had our hands a little full that day, running things to Charity for her Sweden report, then playgroup, then picking up some Arby's, dropping off Noah and then having lunch with Kelly. It was a lot of fun though. I enjoy sitting with my kids in their environment. It's fun to see them interacting with their friends. I'll admit that I feel like birthday tables is a funny thing, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Especially knowing how much it means to them. We got to visit with Kelly's friend Sara Jane and my friend Emily :). Win win :). Good times. Then we went out to the playground to play four square with Kelly and her friends and surprise! surprise! Charity and Noah are out there doing their "buddy time"! They were making seltzer bombs, big bubbles, and drawing with chalk! Erika and Jack had to get in on that action! Bradley just happened to be out for recess as well so the only person missing was Luke :). Mrs. Piper got a kick out of that. Have I mentioned how much I love her. She is the best Kindergarten teacher I've ever met. I think she's getting tired of me saying that :). I have to get her for Erika. Anyway. Fun time! 5-16-14
FATHERS AND SONS/GIRLS NIGHT OUT!
The boys got to go camping, so the girls and I decided we needed to do something fun as well :). We had just found out that Charity's sixth grade dance was going to be formal and she of course needed a dress, so a shopping trip was in order!! We headed out after having a fun little afternoon with Heidi and Sarah and her boys, and got some dinner at Dairy Queen. We went to about a billion stores before finding the perfect dress and in the meantime found Erika and Kelly some new outfits and even some shorts for Brad :). So a very productive trip! We finally pulled into the driveway around 10:00. We got ready for bed, then ate our yummy Kneaders tarts while watching Pride and Prejudice (the cute little mormon version :) ). When that got over we made our way out to the trampoline! Kelly and Erika were really excited to sleep outside, Charity, not so much. We talked her into it anyway :). It was a teensy bit cold and I worried about that most of the night. Everytime I woke up someone else was stirring. The moon was so bright and beautiful though! We all couldn't get enough of the moon. It seriously felt like a flood light halfway through the night. Around about 5:00 I couldn't sleep anymore, and knew we needed to be up by 9:00, so I dragged everyone inside and up to my bed for some warmer sleep. We all snuggled in together- loved that!- and slept for the rest of the morning. I can't express how much I enjoyed the evening! I was so relieved to hear that Jack was going to go and didn't quite know what we were going to do with ourselves (without Jack, the options were endless), but we managed to have so much fun together!! It was such a fun little glimpse into our future. I could just see us all shopping together for wedding dresses, or mission clothes, or baby stuff!! Gets me all excited :). We had a lot of fun, lots of laughs, even helped Charity through her sad little moment when she received the pictures of her friends at a pj party without her! (found out it was a girl she didn't know that threw it- but still! Kind of a bummer for her) We had a good time though, and made some sweet memories. I can't wait til the next Father's and Sons campout!!
We should have them write about it, but since I know they won't I'll just say what I remember from Bradley's narration. They fished, they played in the fire until Bro. Leaver made them stop :), they "hunted" for asaparagus (really delicious asparagus apparently), talked about how crazy Nate was for bringing Jack, and his Father of the year worthiness, roasted marshmallows, watched the men shoot, played with their friends, slept in the tent, Nate helped make breakfast with Jack in his arms, and then came home! Sounded like they had a lot of fun. Especially Jack! Playing in the dirt and throwing sticks into the river and almost taking a head dive into the mud... boys. I love that this ward does those... my boys loved it! 5-16-14
TRANSPLANT FUNDRAISER YARD SALE
For the past few months Becky has been putting together this yard sale to raise some more money for Jared's transplant. Everyone worked really hard setting up and getting things donated. We showed up around 10:30 and did what we could to help sell things and keep traffic to a minimum. We had a really great turn out. I couldn't believe how much stuff they had! The hamburgers were a big hit! The kids helped with a few of the candy stands and selling toys. Kelly had spent the last week or so making duct tape wallets, so she was selling those like hot cakes. It was a lot of fun for everyone really. Unfortunately we still had a lot to do that day so we didn't get to see it out to the finish, we left around 2:00. But it was a neat experience and we found out they brought in around $5,000.00!! Pretty cool. Generosity. 5-17-14
DON AND SHERICE
Also on Saturday, we had the pleasure of witnessing Don and Sherice receiving their endowments!! What an exciting trip to the temple that was!!! It's just not something you get to witness everyday. Quite a change from how they were when we first met them back in 2011. I'm just so happy for them. They've changed so much and you can see so much light in their eyes. They are just different people. It's so awesome to see what effect the Gospel can have on a life that hasn't had it. Just awesome. I will cherish that opportunity. I hope they invite us to their sealing too :). We celebrated at Pizza Pie Cafe afterwards :). It was a lot of fun to sit and talk with them and hear some of their thoughts on the whole thing. They really are incredible and seeing them making these righteous decisions just makes me so happy. 5-17-14
HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY!!!
We celebrated our 13th Anniversary on Thursday! That was a really nice day. Nate wasn't home during the day, so we just sent each other little love texts throughout the day :). But Nate surprised me with not one, but TWO bouquets of flowers!! He said he wanted to get roses because that's what you do, but he thought I would really like this other one too because it had so many of my favorite new daisies in it :). What a sweetheart. He knows me! I love it when I realize how well he knows me. I love the flowers! There's something really wonderful about looking at them and knowing why they're here :). He's always so thoughtful. We hurried and ate some Chicken Enchiladas, then rushed off to Luke's baseball game. Heidi and John showed up to watch as well, that was a fun surprise! Luke's team won again, then we played a little baseball together before we left. When we got home I gave Nate his present- some yummy Mrs. Cavannaugh's Chocolate covered caramels :). mmmmm. He shared :). We ditched everyone including Heidi and John and went out on the town :). Just kidding, it was already almost 10:00 so most of my plans (it was my year to plan) had been out of the question, so we decided to go to Yogotogo for some yumminess, and then picked up Saratov Approach at Walmart along with some much needed groceries (we didn't do our biweekly shopping so we've been scrambling for meals everyday... lesson learned). We came home and watched our movie and cuddled :). I love cuddling :). It was a great day. I LOVE Anniversaries. I love thinking, "What were we doing at this time 13 years ago...?" and remembering that day. It was such an awesome day. So many things to look back on. It's funny to think about how little we knew each other back then. Sadly, but true, I don't think we really knew each other at all :). But it's fun to think about how much love we had for each other only to realize how much deeper that love is now. It's such a different kind of love. Makes ya wonder what our love will be like in a million years... "eternity won't seem that long cuz time will fly when it's you and I.... together". aaahhh. I'm so happy I chose Nate. I'm so happy he chose me and that he chooses me again every day. He's mine forever. 5-15-14
BIRTHDAY TABLES
Kelly's birthday table this week. Fun stuff! We actually had our hands a little full that day, running things to Charity for her Sweden report, then playgroup, then picking up some Arby's, dropping off Noah and then having lunch with Kelly. It was a lot of fun though. I enjoy sitting with my kids in their environment. It's fun to see them interacting with their friends. I'll admit that I feel like birthday tables is a funny thing, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Especially knowing how much it means to them. We got to visit with Kelly's friend Sara Jane and my friend Emily :). Win win :). Good times. Then we went out to the playground to play four square with Kelly and her friends and surprise! surprise! Charity and Noah are out there doing their "buddy time"! They were making seltzer bombs, big bubbles, and drawing with chalk! Erika and Jack had to get in on that action! Bradley just happened to be out for recess as well so the only person missing was Luke :). Mrs. Piper got a kick out of that. Have I mentioned how much I love her. She is the best Kindergarten teacher I've ever met. I think she's getting tired of me saying that :). I have to get her for Erika. Anyway. Fun time! 5-16-14
FATHERS AND SONS/GIRLS NIGHT OUT!
The boys got to go camping, so the girls and I decided we needed to do something fun as well :). We had just found out that Charity's sixth grade dance was going to be formal and she of course needed a dress, so a shopping trip was in order!! We headed out after having a fun little afternoon with Heidi and Sarah and her boys, and got some dinner at Dairy Queen. We went to about a billion stores before finding the perfect dress and in the meantime found Erika and Kelly some new outfits and even some shorts for Brad :). So a very productive trip! We finally pulled into the driveway around 10:00. We got ready for bed, then ate our yummy Kneaders tarts while watching Pride and Prejudice (the cute little mormon version :) ). When that got over we made our way out to the trampoline! Kelly and Erika were really excited to sleep outside, Charity, not so much. We talked her into it anyway :). It was a teensy bit cold and I worried about that most of the night. Everytime I woke up someone else was stirring. The moon was so bright and beautiful though! We all couldn't get enough of the moon. It seriously felt like a flood light halfway through the night. Around about 5:00 I couldn't sleep anymore, and knew we needed to be up by 9:00, so I dragged everyone inside and up to my bed for some warmer sleep. We all snuggled in together- loved that!- and slept for the rest of the morning. I can't express how much I enjoyed the evening! I was so relieved to hear that Jack was going to go and didn't quite know what we were going to do with ourselves (without Jack, the options were endless), but we managed to have so much fun together!! It was such a fun little glimpse into our future. I could just see us all shopping together for wedding dresses, or mission clothes, or baby stuff!! Gets me all excited :). We had a lot of fun, lots of laughs, even helped Charity through her sad little moment when she received the pictures of her friends at a pj party without her! (found out it was a girl she didn't know that threw it- but still! Kind of a bummer for her) We had a good time though, and made some sweet memories. I can't wait til the next Father's and Sons campout!!
We should have them write about it, but since I know they won't I'll just say what I remember from Bradley's narration. They fished, they played in the fire until Bro. Leaver made them stop :), they "hunted" for asaparagus (really delicious asparagus apparently), talked about how crazy Nate was for bringing Jack, and his Father of the year worthiness, roasted marshmallows, watched the men shoot, played with their friends, slept in the tent, Nate helped make breakfast with Jack in his arms, and then came home! Sounded like they had a lot of fun. Especially Jack! Playing in the dirt and throwing sticks into the river and almost taking a head dive into the mud... boys. I love that this ward does those... my boys loved it! 5-16-14
TRANSPLANT FUNDRAISER YARD SALE
For the past few months Becky has been putting together this yard sale to raise some more money for Jared's transplant. Everyone worked really hard setting up and getting things donated. We showed up around 10:30 and did what we could to help sell things and keep traffic to a minimum. We had a really great turn out. I couldn't believe how much stuff they had! The hamburgers were a big hit! The kids helped with a few of the candy stands and selling toys. Kelly had spent the last week or so making duct tape wallets, so she was selling those like hot cakes. It was a lot of fun for everyone really. Unfortunately we still had a lot to do that day so we didn't get to see it out to the finish, we left around 2:00. But it was a neat experience and we found out they brought in around $5,000.00!! Pretty cool. Generosity. 5-17-14
DON AND SHERICE
Also on Saturday, we had the pleasure of witnessing Don and Sherice receiving their endowments!! What an exciting trip to the temple that was!!! It's just not something you get to witness everyday. Quite a change from how they were when we first met them back in 2011. I'm just so happy for them. They've changed so much and you can see so much light in their eyes. They are just different people. It's so awesome to see what effect the Gospel can have on a life that hasn't had it. Just awesome. I will cherish that opportunity. I hope they invite us to their sealing too :). We celebrated at Pizza Pie Cafe afterwards :). It was a lot of fun to sit and talk with them and hear some of their thoughts on the whole thing. They really are incredible and seeing them making these righteous decisions just makes me so happy. 5-17-14
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