SLUFFERS
Erika, Molly, Sadie, and I all stayed home from church this week. This flu bug has been winning. I was glad I kept Sadie home because she screamed for the first half hour after everyone left. She was not happy. Wouldn’t nurse. It was not good. But thankfully she eventually fell asleep. So I sat on the couch almost the entire two hours that everyone was at church!
BUDDY'S BIRTHDAY
It was pretty cute that everyone was so sweet to Buddy on his birthday. I think he actually felt kinda special :). He got his floor pillow a few days later as a gift from Nate. 1-27-20
15 DAY CHALLENGE
So I'm doing it! I've been planning and anticipating doing this challenge again ever since I stopped doing Keto during Sadie's pregnancy. I knew I was going to need it to jump start my weight loss again. I initially planned on waiting until I was done nursing, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I NEED to lose some of this weight! It's just really getting to me. So I started this Tuesday! I was shocked at my Day 1 weigh in = motivation. My mom just offered me one of her old dresses that she not longer fits in (she's losing weight since her bariatric surgery) = motivation. That Day 1 workout nearly killed me and when I think about how easy it was 3 years ago when I did this = motivation. So. I'm doing it! I've been doing really good (it's been 5 days) no slip ups yet! I don't know why I said yet. But anyway. I hope this helps!! 1-28-20
SHOPPING WITH DAD
I got to go birthday shopping with my Dad on Tuesday! This is always a lot of fun. I get to ride in a Tesla, hanging out with my dad, and pick out the perfect gift :). I picked a Joann gift card again-- that was such a great gift a few years ago. Then we drove down to Salt Lake to the Cheesecake Factory (that's our place!) for some food. I had to get something different this time because I am doing the challenge (if I'd thought about it I would have waited one more day), but it was actually really good! I might have to switch to a new usual :). We hurried back to Centennial Junior High for Brad's Uncle Drews team game. Got there at half time and it wasn't my favorite game. Kind of uneventful. But we had fun. I'm so grateful for my dad! He is so good to me. It was nice to talk and have his support on a few things that have been bothering me. I basically talked his ear off :). I was super grateful for Nate watching Sadie so I could go- that was huge! Especially when I found out he'd been cleaning up Molly's throw up while I was gone! And had to miss Brad's game. He sacrificed a lot for me that night- I really appreciated it!! He left shortly after to work the mid. 1-28-20
MINISTERING INTERVIEW
Shelley said some really cool things at our interview this time. I loved how he related our small efforts to the loaves and fishes and how Heavenly Father can magnify our efforts. Made me think I could actually do this! She also made it clear that we need to do more for Mary Jo. I've got to think of something. I liked praying for them with Charity and Kelly afterwards. 1-28-20
FHE
We had a condensed FHE on Tuesday night (our Mondays are swallowed up in Basketball right now... frowny face), since we got home so late. But it was nice to talk and get some feelings out there. We will do better next week. 1-28-20
TUESDAY NIGHT
So Tuesday was pretty full and ended with some pretty chaotic-ness, so I wasn't too surprised that I was up all night dealing with it all some more. Nate was gone so I let Molly sleep in our bed with a bowl. She woke me up about every half hour to do something- throw up, tell me she's hungry or thirsty, or just crying/whining. That was rough. Then Sadie tag teamed with her, waking me up right when I would doze off. It was tricky to be sitting in Sadie's room, feeding her, and then hear Molly up in my room coughing and stuff-- worrying that she was throwing up or something! So stressful! I had completely talked myself out of doing my workout and my eating challenge, etc. by about 3:30. I did manage to squeeze in an hour or so of sleep. I snoozed a little, putting off my shower and combining up some of my morning stuff. Anyway. The shock of all shockers- I actually did my studying, drinking my protein, then I. the tired mom. did. my. workout! I did it!!! The whole thing! It about killed me too! Burpees are NOT my friend right now. How did I get used to them before. I was pretty proud of myself though!! I was able to kind of take it easy Wednesday. Slept a little on the couch. I was SO SORE from my workout the day before I could hardly move. Molly was still a little off too. Although, thankfully, she did not throw up again that day. She got some "water pops" (that's how she says Otter Pops) and toast and then finally, her drink of water! It's so hard to not let them drink when they're sick!! 1-28-20
MAKE A CAKE
Charity and her two friends, Carter and Denver, were our entertainment Friday night- they were making a cake in our kitchen. We all sat around watching them :). It was pretty funny! 1-29-20
LUKE AT THE DRIVING RANGE
Luke got to go to Top Golf today for Jaxx's birthday party and apparently he was pretty awesome at it! Pretty cool! Now he has a pass for life to go there :). We'll have to try it out sometime. 2-1-20
BASKETBALL
Today's games were awesome! It was just Brad and his and Luke's, Luke went to Jaxx's birthday party, and we missed Luke a ton! Brad played awesome though! And was so good at passing to his teammates and letting them be awesome too :). They won by a ton! Then after the game one of the moms came over and told me how grateful she was that Brad, even though he is clearly the "star of the team", still passes and gives his teammates a chance. She went on and on about how good Nate has been and how good Bradley has been for her son and that he's been able to build so much confidence this year and that he's been able to improve a ton! I was so happy! So proud of my boys! It was a fun compliment to receive for them! Mom paycheck! 2-1-20
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Week of 1-19-20
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY
We had a really fun day off with Becky and Grandma Ruthie! We had a few errands to run and stopped for some lunch at Carls Jr. (which ended up being like a half hour wait in the drive thru!) on the way down there, but we got up to Grandma's around 2:00. We played a bunch of games! Nate came up when he got off work at 3:30. We watched a movie, made homemade pizzas for dinner, and played some more games! It was a nice relaxing, but fun way to spend our day off. It was nice to finally hang out with Becky! 1-20-20
SICK LITTLE SADIE
Poor Sadie has been so sick! She's had the goopy eyes, the runny nose, cough, fever, what seems like body aches, wheezing... you name it! The poor little thing! I kept waiting for it all to effect her eating and sleeping, but she actually was eating just fine... not sleeping as good, but good enough really. So anyway. We missed out on a few things... namely playgroup. But she did finally get better. 1-21-20
SICK ME
I hit rock bottom on Tuesday. I had been missing out on so much sleep that I just couldn't even hardly carry on! I was taking care of sick Sadie and trying to keep myself up and alive, and I was really running on empty. Thankfully, Nate was willing to come home early and do the big dentist trip I had been dreading all day. He took Noah, Erika, Jack and Molly to the dentist. Meant a lot to me that he would do that for me. My mom had heard that I was sick too, and brought me some melaleuca that I was needing and a cool new Brad Wilcox book. Hopefully this is the bottom and we can just go up from here. 1-21-20
UNCLE DREWS
Brad's basketball games are so much fun to watch! He's been playing SO GOOD lately! Especially in these games. He just really seems so in control now days. He's a great star, but is so good at being a team player. His defense has been INCREDIBLE! It's been so fun to watch! They won by a lot this week. Made us all happy :). 1-21-20
ORGANIZATION
On the way home from Brad's game, I got a text from Michelle Johnston asking me if I would be willing to share 10-15 minutes of organization with cleaning and cooking that has worked for me. I had to laugh. She has obviously never seen my house! Even the outside of it gives away our lack of organization... so anyway. I told her that while I am not one to say no to these kinds of things, I was definitely not qualified and I could give her some ideas of other people who would be better. She said, I didn't have to if I didn't want to, but I couldn't get myself to say no. I really need blessings these days, so I am hoping it will result in some. So I agreed. Turned out that I started getting blessings almost immediately! That night was a REALLY rough night as far as Sadie's sleeping goes, and because I had been thinking about what I would say about organization, and because I was in the right mind set- and let's face it, because miracles still happen- I was in a really good mood all night long!! Sadie woke up almost every hour and then took a half hour to feed and get back to sleep every time! It was rough, but I was not feeling it. I was feeling okay. Nate was working the mid, so there was no let up. But it worked out! And actually I had the coolest experience- I had a dream that I was hugging my Grandma Mottishaw and got to tell her that I "think about her EVERY day." It was so vivid, so real, it was really cool. I just love my Grandma. So that was pretty sweet. We survived. 1-21-20
LUNCH WITH EMILY
We finally got to go to lunch! This was nothing short of a miracle. Even with Jonah, Molly and Sadie, it still ends up being such a nice little break when I get to go hang out with Emily. I am so grateful for this friendship. Cafe Rio was yummy. I could have done without the dumb debit card fumble. My dumb card wouldn't swipe! This is the second time my card has not worked when I went to lunch with Emily. Last time, at Chik-fil-a- they gave me my food for free. Weird. But Emily covered it and I paid her back. So embarrassing. We had an awesome time talking. It was just what my week needed! 1-23-20
COOL!
Also, when Molly and Sadie and I first got there there was a lady in a wheel chair sitting at a table and as we walked past, Molly was kind of staring at her and she sweeetly looked over and threw out a fun compliment on Molly's haircut! Totally distracting her from the wheelchair! Pretty cool! That's how I would want to be if I were in a wheelchair. 1-23-20
STARZ GAME- NOAH AND ERIKA
Friday night was Noah and Erika's big National Anthem performance with their school choir at the Starz game. This was a fun night! It would have been super cool to get a refund on our tickets since it was the Junior Jazz free game night, but maybe we'll enjoy watching the Starz another time. The reason we were there was to see Erika and Noah though, and they did SO GOOD!! They stayed on pitch so well! I loved watching them and felt so proud of them! They work so hard! There was some fun stuff there, balloon pets, bouncy houses, Steve/knife drama, Grandma and Simon were with us! And the game was really awesome! Went into overtime and we won!! Good stuff. 1-24-20
HONOR CHOIR
Charity participated in the State Honor Choir again! She got to spend the day at Murray High school Friday rehearsing with the whole group. Then on Saturday she left bright and early to practice some more in Salt Lake! They performed that afternoon as well. This was a cool experience for me! Abravanel Hall for one thing, but the acoustics in that building just did their singing such justice!! It was AMAZING!! SO BEAUTIFUL!! Erika, Sadie and I were the only ones able to go, with people being sick, basketball games and working, etc. So we were bummed nobody else got to experience it, but SO enjoyed it!! I'm so proud of Charity! She does so many cool things that take so much effort and work, but she does them with such grace and commitment! I love it! She's living her senior year to its fullest! We were so proud of our parking spot too :). I hope some of my other kids get the chance to experience this!! It was so neat! 1-24-20--1-25-20
We had a really fun day off with Becky and Grandma Ruthie! We had a few errands to run and stopped for some lunch at Carls Jr. (which ended up being like a half hour wait in the drive thru!) on the way down there, but we got up to Grandma's around 2:00. We played a bunch of games! Nate came up when he got off work at 3:30. We watched a movie, made homemade pizzas for dinner, and played some more games! It was a nice relaxing, but fun way to spend our day off. It was nice to finally hang out with Becky! 1-20-20
SICK LITTLE SADIE
Poor Sadie has been so sick! She's had the goopy eyes, the runny nose, cough, fever, what seems like body aches, wheezing... you name it! The poor little thing! I kept waiting for it all to effect her eating and sleeping, but she actually was eating just fine... not sleeping as good, but good enough really. So anyway. We missed out on a few things... namely playgroup. But she did finally get better. 1-21-20
SICK ME
I hit rock bottom on Tuesday. I had been missing out on so much sleep that I just couldn't even hardly carry on! I was taking care of sick Sadie and trying to keep myself up and alive, and I was really running on empty. Thankfully, Nate was willing to come home early and do the big dentist trip I had been dreading all day. He took Noah, Erika, Jack and Molly to the dentist. Meant a lot to me that he would do that for me. My mom had heard that I was sick too, and brought me some melaleuca that I was needing and a cool new Brad Wilcox book. Hopefully this is the bottom and we can just go up from here. 1-21-20
UNCLE DREWS
Brad's basketball games are so much fun to watch! He's been playing SO GOOD lately! Especially in these games. He just really seems so in control now days. He's a great star, but is so good at being a team player. His defense has been INCREDIBLE! It's been so fun to watch! They won by a lot this week. Made us all happy :). 1-21-20
ORGANIZATION
On the way home from Brad's game, I got a text from Michelle Johnston asking me if I would be willing to share 10-15 minutes of organization with cleaning and cooking that has worked for me. I had to laugh. She has obviously never seen my house! Even the outside of it gives away our lack of organization... so anyway. I told her that while I am not one to say no to these kinds of things, I was definitely not qualified and I could give her some ideas of other people who would be better. She said, I didn't have to if I didn't want to, but I couldn't get myself to say no. I really need blessings these days, so I am hoping it will result in some. So I agreed. Turned out that I started getting blessings almost immediately! That night was a REALLY rough night as far as Sadie's sleeping goes, and because I had been thinking about what I would say about organization, and because I was in the right mind set- and let's face it, because miracles still happen- I was in a really good mood all night long!! Sadie woke up almost every hour and then took a half hour to feed and get back to sleep every time! It was rough, but I was not feeling it. I was feeling okay. Nate was working the mid, so there was no let up. But it worked out! And actually I had the coolest experience- I had a dream that I was hugging my Grandma Mottishaw and got to tell her that I "think about her EVERY day." It was so vivid, so real, it was really cool. I just love my Grandma. So that was pretty sweet. We survived. 1-21-20
LUNCH WITH EMILY
We finally got to go to lunch! This was nothing short of a miracle. Even with Jonah, Molly and Sadie, it still ends up being such a nice little break when I get to go hang out with Emily. I am so grateful for this friendship. Cafe Rio was yummy. I could have done without the dumb debit card fumble. My dumb card wouldn't swipe! This is the second time my card has not worked when I went to lunch with Emily. Last time, at Chik-fil-a- they gave me my food for free. Weird. But Emily covered it and I paid her back. So embarrassing. We had an awesome time talking. It was just what my week needed! 1-23-20
COOL!
Also, when Molly and Sadie and I first got there there was a lady in a wheel chair sitting at a table and as we walked past, Molly was kind of staring at her and she sweeetly looked over and threw out a fun compliment on Molly's haircut! Totally distracting her from the wheelchair! Pretty cool! That's how I would want to be if I were in a wheelchair. 1-23-20
STARZ GAME- NOAH AND ERIKA
Friday night was Noah and Erika's big National Anthem performance with their school choir at the Starz game. This was a fun night! It would have been super cool to get a refund on our tickets since it was the Junior Jazz free game night, but maybe we'll enjoy watching the Starz another time. The reason we were there was to see Erika and Noah though, and they did SO GOOD!! They stayed on pitch so well! I loved watching them and felt so proud of them! They work so hard! There was some fun stuff there, balloon pets, bouncy houses, Steve/knife drama, Grandma and Simon were with us! And the game was really awesome! Went into overtime and we won!! Good stuff. 1-24-20
HONOR CHOIR
Charity participated in the State Honor Choir again! She got to spend the day at Murray High school Friday rehearsing with the whole group. Then on Saturday she left bright and early to practice some more in Salt Lake! They performed that afternoon as well. This was a cool experience for me! Abravanel Hall for one thing, but the acoustics in that building just did their singing such justice!! It was AMAZING!! SO BEAUTIFUL!! Erika, Sadie and I were the only ones able to go, with people being sick, basketball games and working, etc. So we were bummed nobody else got to experience it, but SO enjoyed it!! I'm so proud of Charity! She does so many cool things that take so much effort and work, but she does them with such grace and commitment! I love it! She's living her senior year to its fullest! We were so proud of our parking spot too :). I hope some of my other kids get the chance to experience this!! It was so neat! 1-24-20--1-25-20
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Week of 1-12-20
FIRST TIMES!
So today was Noah's first time passing the sacrament! He did great! I had to take Sadie out in the middle of it and got to have him bring me the water in the foyer. So that was cool. I think he enjoyed it and is looking forward to getting more comfortable with it all. So cool!! Also, Bradley got to bless the sacrament for the first time! I loved this as well!! Again, I was in the foyer for it, but I think it was really fun to hear my little boy's voice saying those words and performing such a special ordinance. Made the Sacrament that much more meaningful to me this week! So cool that they get to participate in that. Luke will get to prepare the Sacrament for the first time next week probably. We'll see. 1-12-20
WRESTLING- BRAD
Wrestling conditioning started back up on Monday! Brad's been looking forward to this! He was awesome, getting up at 5:20 to get there by 6:00! And now he's talked several other boys in the ward to join. Pretty fun stuff! I'm so impressed! 1-13-20
COOL SADIE CRYING IN THE CAR ANALOGY
I was having an especially spiritual morning on Monday- these are my best mornings for some reason- and had a lot of time to think in the morning as well as on my three trips to the schools. On the way home from one of them, it was just Sadie and I in the car and she started crying. I was quick to try to calm her by talking to her and telling her she was going to be okay, but nothing I was saying was even phasing her. Which was to be expected- she isn't usually very easy to calm down this way. She was in her carseat, all buckled in, safe, but wishing she was somewhere else. And then it hit me this is a lot like us in life. We are riding in this car called life. Heavenly Father is the driver. He's put us securely in our car seat, and knows where he wants us to go, knows how to get there, knows everything about the journey "home" and is anxious for us to return with him. But sometimes we are just so impatient! We could just sit there and enjoy the ride. Making good choices of course, but enjoying the scenery, feeling safe and secure, knowing that He is there, watching out for us, doing all in His power to get us home safely. We could sit back and relax for the most part. But instead we cry. We worry about little bumps in the road and wish we could stop and get out of the carseat. Even just for a minute. Which is sad because if we would just sit there, we would get home and be comfortable and happy! But we get so impatient. Crying out for who knows what and not even noticing that Heavenly Father is there, trying to comfort us, trying to reassure us of our position in this life. Just hit me and gave me reason to think about how I am doing right now. I was definitely needing to take inventory. Monday was a great day! I had so many awesome little miracles that day. 1-13-20
SADIE 6 MONTH WELL CHECK
Took Sadie to the doctor on Monday. She looks great! She showed off her skills and wowed the doc with her cool moves :). He was laughing about how "busy" she is. She REALLY demonstrated that well :). She needs to work on sitting up on her own a little more and laying on her tummy, but overall- doing great! Growing on schedule even! She hated her shots. And again, she is the most sensitive baby I have ever had with shots. She doesn't let you touch her legs for days! And the Tylenol is necessary for days as well. Poor little Princess!! Makes me so sad! She has a definite sad cry and even whimpers a little. Pretty hard for the rest of us. She's such a sweet little thing! She is loving trying out crackers and the few finger foods we've let her have. She HAS to be held. She does not like to be set down. Anywhere. Which isn't too bad with so many helpers around. She likes to smile and is easy to get to laugh. She is VERY busy. Wiggles and kicks her legs NONSTOP! Just like in my tummy! Kinda funny to watch. She still loves her baths and kicks and splashes a ton in there too. She loves her sibs. She could watch them all day and does sometimes. In fact, she's probably our best baby for basketball games! She just sits and watches the game for the most part! Kinda funny really. She gets a little bored towards the end, but for the most part does pretty good! She will never tire of Molly and her "Don't Be Sad" song. We all can't get enough of their relationship. It's miraculous what she will allow Molly to do with her and how much she just watches her. Molly is too! Molly never gets tired of Sadie and makes room for her in her life better than any of the other kids did with younger siblings. It's really cute! I think the only thing Molly won't do for her is throw away her diapers :). 1-13-20
BRADLEY SOPHOMORE ORIENTATION
This was anticlimactic! We filled out his schedule for next year, brought it with us. Tried to cram into the auditorium for the dumb little meeting, but didn't really hear anything. Then went into the school to maybe talk to someone and there was just no motivation from Bradley. So we turned around, turned in his schedule and walked out the door! I think he was only a few minutes late to basketball practice :). Funny stuff. I think he's anxious and nervous for High School. But I'm sure he will do great! I can see him just thriving there. Can't believe he will be going to High School though!!! 1-13-20
NOAH ORCHESTRA
Noah got his new Orchestra teacher this week! His other one got fired just before Christmas break so we were anxious to find out who the new one would be and so far he just loves him!! Mr. K? I think. I have no idea what his name is- he's never made any attempt to communicate with the parents which is really okay with me, but Noah LOVES him! So this should be fun. I'm glad he's getting a little more/better instruction. 1-14-20
ERIKA'S BACK
We've been really stumped on Erika's back pain lately. She woke up on Tuesday with unbearable pain. I let her stay home and we just couldn't shake this pain! It was awful. She did finally make it back to school, but not sure what we should do about this back pain. So far, it's been heping her to try to stay active- we will see if that can keep working. 1-14-20
UNCLE DREWS- GAME 2
Bradley did SO AWESOME in his game this week!!! He was definitely the team MVP!! Made tons of points, plenty of assists, and some really incredible blocks!!! It was so much fun to watch him play!! Made the other team's annoying crowd more bearable!! We lost, but only by a point at the VERY END!! So crazy! This will be a fun season though, if he can keep playing like that! 1-14-20
CHARITY HONOR CHOIR
Charity made it into Honor choir! She had pass offs this week. I'm so proud of her and that she does these things! She's such a cool girl! Glad she keeps using her beautiful voice. 1-15-20
FHE
We had to have FHE on Wednesday this week. There were no youth activities because they're doing the rec center thing on Friday, so it worked out with everyone for the most part. Erika was the lesson- she did a matching game for the tree of life, and we all got to talk about that some more. We've had a lot of study times on it, so we've really done a lot to get this into our heads. She did good. We had Jack's game- button button, and then Molly's treat- POPCORN! 1-15-20
NOAH TEMPLE
Noah went on that Thursday with Nate and I, then the next day with friends, and then Tuesday morning with the girls and then again this Thursday with friends!! He has really been rockin it with the temple attendance. And loving it! I'm so proud of him! I love that he wants to be there and that he chooses friends who want to be there! Very cool! He's going to be a pro in no time! 1-16-20
JACK ACTIVITY DAYS
Jack went to his first activity days activity on Thursday! This was a cool thing for him! They played in the snow and talked about their goals. I think he liked it! 1-16-20
NO SCHOOL/ SLEDDING!!!
Nate and I were racking our brains for something fun to do with the kids this break because we weren't able to go anywhere with the youth rec center activity, but we finally settled on SLEDDING! It was rough getting out the door with all the snow gear and grumpy-ish kids, but we did it! Everyone cheered up on the way to the old Bountiful church, and we all had a really great time! It was 32 degrees outside, so not too ideal, but it had just snowed a ton too! Nate and I juggled Sadie and I did spend a lot of time in the car, but she did surprisingly well especially for not feeling too hot. Molly was fun to watch sledding- this is fairly new to her- and she LOVES snow! Like, to eat it! She would snack on her glove snow all the way back up the hill. As well as smoothing out the cracks in the snow. She loved going down with everyone! She's so brave! We even got her to go down a few times by herself! That was cool. Jack spent a lot of time going down on his own. He is usually off in his own world, but Nate made him go down with Molly and him and Jack LOVED that. He ended up really joining the group and having fun with everyone. Went down with me a few times too! Cute boy. He was pretty happy about the bags on his feet, keeping them warm :). Erika had a blast! She was a tough little girl, doing a belly flop onto the ground, totally hurt her chest, but still got back into things. She had a lot of fun. She's fun to watch- just so brave! Noah was fun too- he liked scaring people as they came down, pretending to almost get hit. He did a flip to get out of the way of Nate, Kelly and Molly when they almost took him out. And I love the story of him jumping over Brad as he laid in front of the ramp. Luke kept pretty busy, first trying to build a ramp and then going down it. He had a lot of fun! I loved seeing him active and havin ga good time. Brad ran around pushing everyone down the hill. Going halfway down each time as he did it. He really enjoys being a facilitator. I think that's cool. He did get to go down a few times on the tubes too- he loved that. Racing Kelly. He was pretty fun the whole time. Kelly acted like she wasn't going to do anything the whole time because she doesn't like cold, but I think she warmed up and was able to really get into it! She had fun going down with Nate and Molly. It was fun to watch her gt into it. Charity was out with friends, so we missed her, but everybody was wishing she could come. Nate was a blast! He did all the hard stuff, pumping up the tubes, pushing everyone down, spinning legs :). And he was lots of fun for everyone! I loved watching him enjoying it all! Lots of fun! It's been a while since we did something like this! I was glad we made time for it and thought of it! Hot chocolate afterwards, a must! 1-17-20
REC CENTER NIGHT/PROJECTOR MOVIE FOR THE LITTLES
The big kids went to the Rec Center night- the little kids and I stayed home for a fun projector movie in mom's bed! We watched Mighty Joe Young! This was a fun evening for us! The big kids had fun too. Sounded like lots of basketball, swimming, handball, six-square, and working out! Don't know how they keep going that late at night! 1-17-20
So today was Noah's first time passing the sacrament! He did great! I had to take Sadie out in the middle of it and got to have him bring me the water in the foyer. So that was cool. I think he enjoyed it and is looking forward to getting more comfortable with it all. So cool!! Also, Bradley got to bless the sacrament for the first time! I loved this as well!! Again, I was in the foyer for it, but I think it was really fun to hear my little boy's voice saying those words and performing such a special ordinance. Made the Sacrament that much more meaningful to me this week! So cool that they get to participate in that. Luke will get to prepare the Sacrament for the first time next week probably. We'll see. 1-12-20
WRESTLING- BRAD
Wrestling conditioning started back up on Monday! Brad's been looking forward to this! He was awesome, getting up at 5:20 to get there by 6:00! And now he's talked several other boys in the ward to join. Pretty fun stuff! I'm so impressed! 1-13-20
COOL SADIE CRYING IN THE CAR ANALOGY
I was having an especially spiritual morning on Monday- these are my best mornings for some reason- and had a lot of time to think in the morning as well as on my three trips to the schools. On the way home from one of them, it was just Sadie and I in the car and she started crying. I was quick to try to calm her by talking to her and telling her she was going to be okay, but nothing I was saying was even phasing her. Which was to be expected- she isn't usually very easy to calm down this way. She was in her carseat, all buckled in, safe, but wishing she was somewhere else. And then it hit me this is a lot like us in life. We are riding in this car called life. Heavenly Father is the driver. He's put us securely in our car seat, and knows where he wants us to go, knows how to get there, knows everything about the journey "home" and is anxious for us to return with him. But sometimes we are just so impatient! We could just sit there and enjoy the ride. Making good choices of course, but enjoying the scenery, feeling safe and secure, knowing that He is there, watching out for us, doing all in His power to get us home safely. We could sit back and relax for the most part. But instead we cry. We worry about little bumps in the road and wish we could stop and get out of the carseat. Even just for a minute. Which is sad because if we would just sit there, we would get home and be comfortable and happy! But we get so impatient. Crying out for who knows what and not even noticing that Heavenly Father is there, trying to comfort us, trying to reassure us of our position in this life. Just hit me and gave me reason to think about how I am doing right now. I was definitely needing to take inventory. Monday was a great day! I had so many awesome little miracles that day. 1-13-20
SADIE 6 MONTH WELL CHECK
Took Sadie to the doctor on Monday. She looks great! She showed off her skills and wowed the doc with her cool moves :). He was laughing about how "busy" she is. She REALLY demonstrated that well :). She needs to work on sitting up on her own a little more and laying on her tummy, but overall- doing great! Growing on schedule even! She hated her shots. And again, she is the most sensitive baby I have ever had with shots. She doesn't let you touch her legs for days! And the Tylenol is necessary for days as well. Poor little Princess!! Makes me so sad! She has a definite sad cry and even whimpers a little. Pretty hard for the rest of us. She's such a sweet little thing! She is loving trying out crackers and the few finger foods we've let her have. She HAS to be held. She does not like to be set down. Anywhere. Which isn't too bad with so many helpers around. She likes to smile and is easy to get to laugh. She is VERY busy. Wiggles and kicks her legs NONSTOP! Just like in my tummy! Kinda funny to watch. She still loves her baths and kicks and splashes a ton in there too. She loves her sibs. She could watch them all day and does sometimes. In fact, she's probably our best baby for basketball games! She just sits and watches the game for the most part! Kinda funny really. She gets a little bored towards the end, but for the most part does pretty good! She will never tire of Molly and her "Don't Be Sad" song. We all can't get enough of their relationship. It's miraculous what she will allow Molly to do with her and how much she just watches her. Molly is too! Molly never gets tired of Sadie and makes room for her in her life better than any of the other kids did with younger siblings. It's really cute! I think the only thing Molly won't do for her is throw away her diapers :). 1-13-20
BRADLEY SOPHOMORE ORIENTATION
This was anticlimactic! We filled out his schedule for next year, brought it with us. Tried to cram into the auditorium for the dumb little meeting, but didn't really hear anything. Then went into the school to maybe talk to someone and there was just no motivation from Bradley. So we turned around, turned in his schedule and walked out the door! I think he was only a few minutes late to basketball practice :). Funny stuff. I think he's anxious and nervous for High School. But I'm sure he will do great! I can see him just thriving there. Can't believe he will be going to High School though!!! 1-13-20
NOAH ORCHESTRA
Noah got his new Orchestra teacher this week! His other one got fired just before Christmas break so we were anxious to find out who the new one would be and so far he just loves him!! Mr. K? I think. I have no idea what his name is- he's never made any attempt to communicate with the parents which is really okay with me, but Noah LOVES him! So this should be fun. I'm glad he's getting a little more/better instruction. 1-14-20
ERIKA'S BACK
We've been really stumped on Erika's back pain lately. She woke up on Tuesday with unbearable pain. I let her stay home and we just couldn't shake this pain! It was awful. She did finally make it back to school, but not sure what we should do about this back pain. So far, it's been heping her to try to stay active- we will see if that can keep working. 1-14-20
UNCLE DREWS- GAME 2
Bradley did SO AWESOME in his game this week!!! He was definitely the team MVP!! Made tons of points, plenty of assists, and some really incredible blocks!!! It was so much fun to watch him play!! Made the other team's annoying crowd more bearable!! We lost, but only by a point at the VERY END!! So crazy! This will be a fun season though, if he can keep playing like that! 1-14-20
CHARITY HONOR CHOIR
Charity made it into Honor choir! She had pass offs this week. I'm so proud of her and that she does these things! She's such a cool girl! Glad she keeps using her beautiful voice. 1-15-20
FHE
We had to have FHE on Wednesday this week. There were no youth activities because they're doing the rec center thing on Friday, so it worked out with everyone for the most part. Erika was the lesson- she did a matching game for the tree of life, and we all got to talk about that some more. We've had a lot of study times on it, so we've really done a lot to get this into our heads. She did good. We had Jack's game- button button, and then Molly's treat- POPCORN! 1-15-20
NOAH TEMPLE
Noah went on that Thursday with Nate and I, then the next day with friends, and then Tuesday morning with the girls and then again this Thursday with friends!! He has really been rockin it with the temple attendance. And loving it! I'm so proud of him! I love that he wants to be there and that he chooses friends who want to be there! Very cool! He's going to be a pro in no time! 1-16-20
JACK ACTIVITY DAYS
Jack went to his first activity days activity on Thursday! This was a cool thing for him! They played in the snow and talked about their goals. I think he liked it! 1-16-20
NO SCHOOL/ SLEDDING!!!
Nate and I were racking our brains for something fun to do with the kids this break because we weren't able to go anywhere with the youth rec center activity, but we finally settled on SLEDDING! It was rough getting out the door with all the snow gear and grumpy-ish kids, but we did it! Everyone cheered up on the way to the old Bountiful church, and we all had a really great time! It was 32 degrees outside, so not too ideal, but it had just snowed a ton too! Nate and I juggled Sadie and I did spend a lot of time in the car, but she did surprisingly well especially for not feeling too hot. Molly was fun to watch sledding- this is fairly new to her- and she LOVES snow! Like, to eat it! She would snack on her glove snow all the way back up the hill. As well as smoothing out the cracks in the snow. She loved going down with everyone! She's so brave! We even got her to go down a few times by herself! That was cool. Jack spent a lot of time going down on his own. He is usually off in his own world, but Nate made him go down with Molly and him and Jack LOVED that. He ended up really joining the group and having fun with everyone. Went down with me a few times too! Cute boy. He was pretty happy about the bags on his feet, keeping them warm :). Erika had a blast! She was a tough little girl, doing a belly flop onto the ground, totally hurt her chest, but still got back into things. She had a lot of fun. She's fun to watch- just so brave! Noah was fun too- he liked scaring people as they came down, pretending to almost get hit. He did a flip to get out of the way of Nate, Kelly and Molly when they almost took him out. And I love the story of him jumping over Brad as he laid in front of the ramp. Luke kept pretty busy, first trying to build a ramp and then going down it. He had a lot of fun! I loved seeing him active and havin ga good time. Brad ran around pushing everyone down the hill. Going halfway down each time as he did it. He really enjoys being a facilitator. I think that's cool. He did get to go down a few times on the tubes too- he loved that. Racing Kelly. He was pretty fun the whole time. Kelly acted like she wasn't going to do anything the whole time because she doesn't like cold, but I think she warmed up and was able to really get into it! She had fun going down with Nate and Molly. It was fun to watch her gt into it. Charity was out with friends, so we missed her, but everybody was wishing she could come. Nate was a blast! He did all the hard stuff, pumping up the tubes, pushing everyone down, spinning legs :). And he was lots of fun for everyone! I loved watching him enjoying it all! Lots of fun! It's been a while since we did something like this! I was glad we made time for it and thought of it! Hot chocolate afterwards, a must! 1-17-20
REC CENTER NIGHT/PROJECTOR MOVIE FOR THE LITTLES
The big kids went to the Rec Center night- the little kids and I stayed home for a fun projector movie in mom's bed! We watched Mighty Joe Young! This was a fun evening for us! The big kids had fun too. Sounded like lots of basketball, swimming, handball, six-square, and working out! Don't know how they keep going that late at night! 1-17-20
Week of 1-5-20
ORDINATIONS
This was a really special and memorable Sunday for me! After church we got to have all three older boys ordained! We invited Grandma and Simon so they were there, and the rest of us as well as Bridger and his parents all crammed into the Bishop's office. It was SO NEAT!! Bridger was first and then we talked about how if Bradley is ordained a Priest first, then he can stand and participate in Luke and Noah's ordinations as well! So he went next. Nate ordained him a Priest and gave him a really cool blessing. I love hearing what Heavenly Father has to say to my kids through the Priesthood blessings. That was neat. Then Luke's turn. Nate ordained him a Teacher and gave him a very special blessing as well. I love that these boys are worthy to receive the Priesthood so that I can participate in this beautiful Spirit that accompanied their ordinations. Brad of course stood in the circle- very cool. Then Noah's turn! Nate ordained Noah a Deacon and gave him the Priesthood! This was pretty special as well. His blessing was awesome too. This was pretty cool that he was able to be ordained six days BEFORE he turned 12! And Brad stood in the circle again. Just a really neat experience! Three boys at once! We got pictures outside afterwards! 1-5-20
PRIESTHOOD PREPAREDNESS
I really loved how the Priesthood Preparedness thing went. It was really simple, but really organized. I loved that they had the Deacon quorum president speak and the younger YW class president too. They did great and gave a lot of great information. Who better for these kids to hear from! Then they had a panel with Bro. Pederson, Bro. Thaxton and Sis. Richardson and I absolutely LOVED that Bro. Thaxton kept turning his questions over to the Deacons! YOUTH LEAD!!! I was happy about that. Happy that Noah has him for his leader and will get opportunities to lead. I think Noah enjoyed it and feels a little more prepared and welcome into Deacons. 1-5-20
MUSIC MAKERS MOVEMENT TIME- TRANSPORTATION
Okay, I absolutely hated movement time today! It was my turn and it went completely haywire!! I don't know why. Well, I do know why- none of the moms do anything!!! They all stand around talking while the person running things has to referee the kids. No paper airplanes next time... 1-6-20
WALMART PICKUP
So didn't have the best experience with Walmart pickup this week! They were backed up and didn't have my order ready on time, so I waited like a half hour. Then I went home, did some stuff, scheduled with them to have Nate pick up and he sat there for a good hour, before I finally just told him to cancel it! A WHOLE DAY BEHIND!!! Kinda nuts. I think they were just understaffed. It was the first day back from the long Christmas break. Anyway. I reordered with Layton Walmart the next day... all was well. 1-6-20
LUNCH WITH KRISTA
Krista and I finally got to go out. We went to Old Grist Mill- it was delicious. Molly and Sadie were awesome, minus Sadie slobbering all over Krista's coat in her high chair :). We had a nice time though. I'm pretty sure I could talk to Krista all day!! Need to do that more often. 1-6-20
UNCLE DREWS
Brad's first game with his sort of comp league was Tuesday! It was really fun to watch them play, but it didn't seem like everyone was playing their best. The team they played was beyond obnoxious, just really loud and in your face. Should have had some technicals called. It was awful. We lost by a lot. But I'm excited about this league- seems like most of the boys can play and will be some good competition. Hopefully we can get in a groove soon. 1-7-20
FHE
We had FHE on Tuesday this week because of basketball practices. Rare that we have any other day open, so we took advantage of that. Jack did the lesson- he had us act out Nephi and his brothers going back to get the brass plates! This was fun. Jack got to be Nephi, Brad and Luke were of course Laman and Lemuel. Noah was Sam. Kelly was Laban, Erika was Zoram, Molly was the brass plates- which she loved and has talked about many times since then. When Charity showed up she was the angel. Nate and I were the parents- of course. It was a lot of fun. We had apples dipped in caramel for the treat. 1-7-20
SCHOOL CHOIR
Noah and Erika started school choir this week! They BARELY made it into the choir because Mrs. Hamblin had mercy on those of us who didn't bring in papers quick enough. They are excited. 1-8-20
CHURCH BALL
We had our last games for church ball for the season on Thursday. Course I think the Priests may have made it to Regions. Kinda fun! It was a bittersweet season for me with all the juggling they did with the boys- since they move up in the middle of the season. Didn't love that. But they had a lot of fun and I loved watching them! 1-9-20
LAST BIRTHDAY TABLE WITH NOAH
We grabbed some Wendy's and headed over to the school! This was Noah's last time having birthday tables! We loved being with him and having that time together! Good stuff! 1-10-20
NOAH'S FAMILY PARTY- DARTSIDE
We had Noah's family party at Dartside this time. We had tried to get Jazz tickets for everyone and go there, but that did not pan out- mainly because Noah didn't want to have to have the family separated! Love that. So we went to Dartside. It was especially fun this time because Grandpa Hatch came! Grandma Hatch came as well, with Porter and he was able to play int he Kid City with Molly, so that was fun. The kids have lots of fun stories about trying to get Grandpa out- he was wearing a leather coat so he "couldn't feel" anything hitting him. Sounded like Nate was a major target as well. Spent a lot of time on the sit- out. But sounded like fun! I was glad Charity was able to join us even if it was cut short with a friend outing. We love having the time we get with her these days! They are few and far between. Noah seemed to be pretty happy and had a good time! We came home for some Jazz Cake and ice cream. Presents too. I think he liked his zipline and stuff from his sibs- everyone had been so thoughtful at the store- finding just the right gifts! Money from the grandparents. It was a nice 12th birthday! 1-10-20
NOAH'S BIRTHDAY
Noah's actual birthday was spent mostly at basketball games :). But I think he enjoys that enough that it was fun! We did get to go to dinner in the morning, Noah chose IHOP. This was one of the most uneventful trips we have had at a restaurant in a long time! Everyone stayed happy the entire time and there were no incidents! I was shocked! We were missing Kelly and Bradley which was a bummer, but they were working, so we understand. It was fun when the waitresses and waiters came out with ice cream for Noah and sang to him! Fun surprise. I think he had a good day. We let him choose dinner and he chose crepes and then we watched a projector movie in my room, on my bed, and Noah got to choose it. Unfortunately, he chose Captain America and that was a little too freaky for the little guys. But it was a fun night! Happy Birthday, Noah! 1-11-20
This was a really special and memorable Sunday for me! After church we got to have all three older boys ordained! We invited Grandma and Simon so they were there, and the rest of us as well as Bridger and his parents all crammed into the Bishop's office. It was SO NEAT!! Bridger was first and then we talked about how if Bradley is ordained a Priest first, then he can stand and participate in Luke and Noah's ordinations as well! So he went next. Nate ordained him a Priest and gave him a really cool blessing. I love hearing what Heavenly Father has to say to my kids through the Priesthood blessings. That was neat. Then Luke's turn. Nate ordained him a Teacher and gave him a very special blessing as well. I love that these boys are worthy to receive the Priesthood so that I can participate in this beautiful Spirit that accompanied their ordinations. Brad of course stood in the circle- very cool. Then Noah's turn! Nate ordained Noah a Deacon and gave him the Priesthood! This was pretty special as well. His blessing was awesome too. This was pretty cool that he was able to be ordained six days BEFORE he turned 12! And Brad stood in the circle again. Just a really neat experience! Three boys at once! We got pictures outside afterwards! 1-5-20
PRIESTHOOD PREPAREDNESS
I really loved how the Priesthood Preparedness thing went. It was really simple, but really organized. I loved that they had the Deacon quorum president speak and the younger YW class president too. They did great and gave a lot of great information. Who better for these kids to hear from! Then they had a panel with Bro. Pederson, Bro. Thaxton and Sis. Richardson and I absolutely LOVED that Bro. Thaxton kept turning his questions over to the Deacons! YOUTH LEAD!!! I was happy about that. Happy that Noah has him for his leader and will get opportunities to lead. I think Noah enjoyed it and feels a little more prepared and welcome into Deacons. 1-5-20
MUSIC MAKERS MOVEMENT TIME- TRANSPORTATION
Okay, I absolutely hated movement time today! It was my turn and it went completely haywire!! I don't know why. Well, I do know why- none of the moms do anything!!! They all stand around talking while the person running things has to referee the kids. No paper airplanes next time... 1-6-20
WALMART PICKUP
So didn't have the best experience with Walmart pickup this week! They were backed up and didn't have my order ready on time, so I waited like a half hour. Then I went home, did some stuff, scheduled with them to have Nate pick up and he sat there for a good hour, before I finally just told him to cancel it! A WHOLE DAY BEHIND!!! Kinda nuts. I think they were just understaffed. It was the first day back from the long Christmas break. Anyway. I reordered with Layton Walmart the next day... all was well. 1-6-20
LUNCH WITH KRISTA
Krista and I finally got to go out. We went to Old Grist Mill- it was delicious. Molly and Sadie were awesome, minus Sadie slobbering all over Krista's coat in her high chair :). We had a nice time though. I'm pretty sure I could talk to Krista all day!! Need to do that more often. 1-6-20
UNCLE DREWS
Brad's first game with his sort of comp league was Tuesday! It was really fun to watch them play, but it didn't seem like everyone was playing their best. The team they played was beyond obnoxious, just really loud and in your face. Should have had some technicals called. It was awful. We lost by a lot. But I'm excited about this league- seems like most of the boys can play and will be some good competition. Hopefully we can get in a groove soon. 1-7-20
FHE
We had FHE on Tuesday this week because of basketball practices. Rare that we have any other day open, so we took advantage of that. Jack did the lesson- he had us act out Nephi and his brothers going back to get the brass plates! This was fun. Jack got to be Nephi, Brad and Luke were of course Laman and Lemuel. Noah was Sam. Kelly was Laban, Erika was Zoram, Molly was the brass plates- which she loved and has talked about many times since then. When Charity showed up she was the angel. Nate and I were the parents- of course. It was a lot of fun. We had apples dipped in caramel for the treat. 1-7-20
SCHOOL CHOIR
Noah and Erika started school choir this week! They BARELY made it into the choir because Mrs. Hamblin had mercy on those of us who didn't bring in papers quick enough. They are excited. 1-8-20
CHURCH BALL
We had our last games for church ball for the season on Thursday. Course I think the Priests may have made it to Regions. Kinda fun! It was a bittersweet season for me with all the juggling they did with the boys- since they move up in the middle of the season. Didn't love that. But they had a lot of fun and I loved watching them! 1-9-20
LAST BIRTHDAY TABLE WITH NOAH
We grabbed some Wendy's and headed over to the school! This was Noah's last time having birthday tables! We loved being with him and having that time together! Good stuff! 1-10-20
NOAH'S FAMILY PARTY- DARTSIDE
We had Noah's family party at Dartside this time. We had tried to get Jazz tickets for everyone and go there, but that did not pan out- mainly because Noah didn't want to have to have the family separated! Love that. So we went to Dartside. It was especially fun this time because Grandpa Hatch came! Grandma Hatch came as well, with Porter and he was able to play int he Kid City with Molly, so that was fun. The kids have lots of fun stories about trying to get Grandpa out- he was wearing a leather coat so he "couldn't feel" anything hitting him. Sounded like Nate was a major target as well. Spent a lot of time on the sit- out. But sounded like fun! I was glad Charity was able to join us even if it was cut short with a friend outing. We love having the time we get with her these days! They are few and far between. Noah seemed to be pretty happy and had a good time! We came home for some Jazz Cake and ice cream. Presents too. I think he liked his zipline and stuff from his sibs- everyone had been so thoughtful at the store- finding just the right gifts! Money from the grandparents. It was a nice 12th birthday! 1-10-20
NOAH'S BIRTHDAY
Noah's actual birthday was spent mostly at basketball games :). But I think he enjoys that enough that it was fun! We did get to go to dinner in the morning, Noah chose IHOP. This was one of the most uneventful trips we have had at a restaurant in a long time! Everyone stayed happy the entire time and there were no incidents! I was shocked! We were missing Kelly and Bradley which was a bummer, but they were working, so we understand. It was fun when the waitresses and waiters came out with ice cream for Noah and sang to him! Fun surprise. I think he had a good day. We let him choose dinner and he chose crepes and then we watched a projector movie in my room, on my bed, and Noah got to choose it. Unfortunately, he chose Captain America and that was a little too freaky for the little guys. But it was a fun night! Happy Birthday, Noah! 1-11-20
First Week of the Year
TEMPLE
One of our goals for the new year is to go to the temple more often. And not just in the mornings, so we can accommodate those who don't do mornings. So Nate took the older kids to the temple on Friday morning. It was PACKED! They have funny descriptions of how crowded it was. I'm afraid it's going to be like this for a while since the Salt Lake Temple is closed now. But it was nice that they were able to go! 1-4-20
One of our goals for the new year is to go to the temple more often. And not just in the mornings, so we can accommodate those who don't do mornings. So Nate took the older kids to the temple on Friday morning. It was PACKED! They have funny descriptions of how crowded it was. I'm afraid it's going to be like this for a while since the Salt Lake Temple is closed now. But it was nice that they were able to go! 1-4-20
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