Mother's Day

"Mother, who willingly made that personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death to take us by the hand and introduce us to birth—even to mortal life—deserves our undying gratitude."
Thomas S. Monson


My mom, my grandma, my two daughters, and me.

Today doesn't seem to be the day to write my feelings on motherhood. Instead, to ALL the women who are such an influential part of my life, thank you, I love you and Happy Mother's Day.

Hooray for Ellie!

Ellie was riding a two-wheeler by herself less than 5 minutes after Luke removed her training wheels! Hooray for Ellie-she is soooooo proud of herself. (She will be four this month!)

One of My Favorite People

It really isn't too hard to be one of my favorite people. One of the simple requirements HAS TO BE that YOU LIKE ME TOO. My sister-in-law Cindy, fits the requirement. (And that can't be said for all of my sister-in-laws!) Truthfully, I like Cindy not just because she likes me too, but for many reasons. My kids love Cindy too and were so excited that it was her birthday. The kids were also very concerned about getting her the right gift, which ultimately Luke disagreed on the one I chose, because, "Cindy doesn't wear pink." We had a simple birthday party for her, complete with a game, birthday cake and candles. I put a lot of effort into making her a cake and instead it was a "blob." (A bundt cake that severely fell!) I know as the saying goes, it is the thought that counts, but I still felt bad, especially when Megan looked at it and said, "Oh Mom, I would be so embarrassed if I were you, because usually your cakes look so good." Happy (late) Birthday Cindy! We're glad you're part of our family. (I also have to pay tribute to her for taking on the project of making my pioneer dress for Trek! She went from volunteering to help me, to volunteering to do the whole thing! I am very thankful. Thanks Cindy!)

Glad My Tax Dollars Pay For A School Bus

My kids have been waiting all Spring to ride their bikes to school. We live exactly 1.5 miles from the school (which is why we qualify for the bus), and I think it is too far for Megan and Luke to ride alone, so who had to go along for the ride? Yep, me! Mondays and Tuesdays have not been an option (volunteering and early morning choir), and up until yesterday, Mondays and Tuesdays were the only "bike riding temperatures." So yesterday was the big day. ( yes it was cold and rainy later in the morning, but wasn't first thing) Preparing for the ride took longer than the actual ride, helmets for all, blankets and snacks for the trailer kids, etc! Off we went. On the way to the school, I felt very tired and couldn't figure out why it was so hard. Of course pulling 70 lbs is somewhat difficult, but I began to wonder if there was an incline to the street!? I finally figured it out as I enjoyed the ride home... I wasn't trying to keep up with Luke and Megan! Once I had taken them to school, and was on the return trip I could ride at my own leisurely pace!!!! All in all it was an enjoyable experience, although midway through Joshua removed his helmet completely, Ellie was instructed to stop picking Joshua's nose boogers, so he wouldn't keep crying, and I was thrilled that at least some of my tax dollars go to good use, and I don't have to ride bikes every day.

P.S. I was actually quite relieved that it rained later in the day because I would have had to return to pick up Luke from Kindergarten, and then again in the afternoon to pick up Megan. (Potentially a total 12 mile trip for me.) Thank goodness for a suburban to load 2 bikes into!

Random Thoughts on Random Shots

Luke and his bike!: Mike was at work and unavailable to fix Luke's flat tire. Luke's solution? Find Dad's wrenches, remove tire and replace it with the tire from old bike! Yes, Luke did this all by himself. As funny as the bike looks now with two different sized tires, I am mighty impressed my 6 year old knew how to do it!

Brrrr Cold!: Mike had promised the kids that he would sleep on the trampoline last weekend. So, Mike, Megan and Luke slept outside on the trampoline. I think the reason there are no heads showing in the picture has something to do with the fact when I went out to take the picture in the morning, I could see my breath in the air!! Brrr!

Luke playing baseball: Luke is the youngest on his machine pitch team. He is doing great. I especially love when he asks, "What team am I versing tonight?" (He has heard it said for example, "Yankees vs Pirates.")

Joshua and Megan: It has been so fun having older kids around this time with a baby. Joshua loves Megan, and she is so good to play with him and give him the attention he wants.

Pictures of Megan and Ellie: People always tell me how much alike Megan and Ellie look, I don't really think so (unless looking at pictures of Megan at Ellie's age.) I love these two pictures of them, it shows their personalities. Megan-a pleaser, Ellie-well, Ellie!

Luke relaxing: We were at some friend's house helping them in the yard. While the kids were off playing, Luke got his chair and perched up on the uneven dirt mound and observed the working!

Joshua: Never too young to start learning the value of hard work!

Ellie: On Sunday afternoons, Mike sits on the couch with the ottoman and reads the newspaper. Ellie wanted to do the same and announced, "I need do some reading, shhhh."

Luke is 61/2!--Happy 1/2 Birthday

It all started when Megan turned exactly 6 months old. It happened to be Nana's birthday (April 12th), and I thought how fun that Megan is 1/2 a year old on Nana's real birthday. So as Nana had birthdays, we acknowledged that Megan was officially 1 1/2, 2 1/2 etc. Now fast forward to May 2nd, 2003. Mike was working late, a few young women were gathered at my house and I remembered that today Luke was 1 1/2 and for some reason I decided to bake a cake and it all began from there... Some people think it's dumb, but it gives us a fun excuse to be honored simply and not with the big fanfare of a regular birthday. On your half birthday, you get a half a cake (see picture if you wonder how you bake 1/2 a cake), with 1/2 a candle in it, and we sing 1/2 of Happy Birthday. The 1/2 birthday kid also gets one small gift.

I warn you now, this entry gets a little long, BUT the details are so important to the story.

Now the gift has to be explained. It is a memory and story I hope to always remember. For weeks Luke has been talking about a "Jack Pock." Some kids at school have them and he has described them over and over to me. A few days ago, I decided to ask a few more detailed questions and try to purchase one for his half birthday. (I had already been informed that they were "$5 or $6 and you can buy them at Walmart or Target." So, I began my "Jack Pock" quest. Nothing anywhere said, "Jack Pock" but I came home with something I felt matched the description (names always get changed don't they?), and soon after quizzed Luke a little more and became discouraged that I didn't have the right item. Well, after school today, I said to Luke, how about we go and get you a "Jack Pock" for your birthday. I told him I had looked at Walmart and couldn't find one. I was then informed "they are at Target." So to Target we went and up and down the toy aisles we explored. Finally, there it was high up on the shelf, Luke excitedly announced, "That's it." I handed it to him and said, it doesn't say Jack Pock on it, to which he didn't respond (too excited to be holding his highly anticipated and wanted item.) Finally, as we're walking to the car I said, "I'm glad you came with me, I would never have found that because it doesn't say Jack Pock anywhere on it." Luke stopped, dead in his tracks, "It doesn't? "What does it say?" To which I respond as I take the package from him, "Drop Popz." "Ohhhhhhhh," was Luke's response, I thought they were saying, "Jack Pock." Luke is now the proud owner of a "Drop Popz," and it has given him hours of satisfaction and fun today, but if you say "Drop Popz", no one in our house will know what you are talking about, it is, a "Jack Pock." Happy 1/2 Birthday Luke! We love you.

Tagged!

How to play this game of tag. Post these rules on your blog. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 JOYS
1. My children, Megan, Luke, Ellie and Joshua.
2. My husband, Mike
3. Hearing my children laugh. I love the sound of children's laughter-especially my own, because it means they aren't fighting!

3 FEARS
1. Mike dying at a young age.
2. Water (being baptized was a very traumatizing experience for me!)
3. Dying in child-birth (I obviously haven't so far, but I've stressed about it with each pregnancy and it is the major reason I second guess having a #5).
P.S. I could keep going. I unfortunately have a lot of fears, driving in snow, flying, snakes etc. etc.

3 GOALS
1. Teaching my children to love the gospel (on-going)
2. Not saying the D-word I am "so well known for"
3. Not yelling as much. I have made some drastic improvements with a lot of support from Mike and much prayer!

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS
1. Quicken-I like to know how much money is in my bank account at any give moment.
2. Chocolate. Seriously I know it sounds so cliche, but I can't live without it!
3. My Blog, it is becoming a family journal and I love that!

3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT MYSELF
1. Love to do laundry. (The sorting is my VERY favorite) The first thing I do AS SOON as we get home from any trip is unload the suitcases and sort all the clothes.
2. I am very uptight about the blinds being opened and beds made in the morning. Blinds being left closed will cause my temper to flare rapidly! (I know it sounds dumb, but I can't seem to lighten up about it.) Side note: Sometimes my kids teeth don't get brushed before school, but their blinds are always opened!
3. Mike and I don't have specific sides of the bed we sleep on. We are always sleeping on different sides. In fact, if I think we have slept too many nights in a row on one side, I make us switch so we "don't get sides."

I know, I know, I am a little different. But that's what makes me- Me!


I tag Heather, Adrienne, Kim, Lesley and Michelle.