Help for the Helpless

Lately I've been so very tired.  Our house is a disaster in part because of this and in part because my children freak out when I stand up and try to do something.  They all want me to sit around so they can sit on me.  And it's been especially hard to be patient with them because I've been so tired.  Also, when I'm tired I don't like to find food to eat.  That adds to my grouchiness and throws my blood sugar off for the rest of the day.  Not a pretty picture.

In this hazy, tired state I was nonetheless compelled yesterday to drag my bum and my 6 children to the store to get "name presents."  Oh, my goodness.  Taking all the children to the store by myself is always a circus, especially at meal time (which was really the last available choice I had).  I lost it right up front when the boys started fighting over who would push the cart.  But then something in me changed as I apologized to my son, and it turns out it had nothing to do with me.  Whatever it was it made the trip a whole lot better.  It was straight from God and it gave me patience despite my grumpiness.

Hyrum was freaking out for a good part of the trip because he was tired from traipsing back and forth through the store.  And Jill kept running everywhere, which made him freak out more.  I calmly exlained to him time and time again that he didn't need to drag her.  Most of the time he just needed to ask nicely for her to put things down and come.  She's a good girly even if she has grabby hands from time to time. 

I can't even think how many times I must have looked over my little brood and counted them.  Toward the end we went and grabbed some apples and then went to find summer sausage.  Somewhere in that time I realized that Jill was nowhere to be seen.  But hallelujah that somebody found her and took her to the customer service desk - right where we needed to go to buy the boys' boots with their coupons from Shop with a Cop.  The nice ladies at the service desk even gave her a balloon - and then they gave the four older boys balloons too.

And then when everything was all checked out I had kiddos running everywhere, and I was trying to hold Jill in the cart (because she was trying to escape and I couldn't have her running around as we went to the parking lot) and drive both carts that I ended up needing.  And suddenly there was my friend Colleen.  She stopped and offered help.  She drove the cart with my three little ones to the car (which meant that Jill stopped trying to escape and sat in the cart wide-eyed, wondering who in the world was driving the cart and why).  And Benji threw a fit because Joshua didn't share his money. 

I'm telling you, it was a circus, and I honestly see no way that I could have remained patient through it all on my own.  I'm thankful to have seen the hand of God in my life yesterday.  When He touches my life it makes everything infinitely better.  I needed Him and He was there.  Because of Him we made it through losing Jill and counless whining moments.  We made it home in once piece (or at least in all the pieces we left home in XD), and it was all ok.  I'm so thankful.

Shop with a Cop

Well, it's all over.  I went to the store to pick the boys up at 8:00.  I did a bit of shopping and came back to the waiting area, and then Joshua met me there at about 8:40.  He gave the play-by-play story of his experience, and it was fun to hear him talk.  He's so detailed.  (Takes after his mommy, I guess) 

When we got to the store this morning they had two lines going into Layaway.  One was police men and the like and the other was children.  At the head of the line they matched kids up with officers, put name tags on the kids, and handed the officers a gift card.  Joshua said after I left they took pictures with Santa and then looked around to see what they might like to buy.  Then they got in the cars (he was in a police car, and the other boys were with firefighters) and went down the freeway with sirens and horns blaring.  Joshua got to turn the siren on and Benji got to honk the horn in the fire truck.  They had breakfast and sang a Christmas song or two at our high school and then went back to the store to buy things.  After the officer paid for the things they took them to the middle of the store where the local cheerleaders had lots of tables set up.  They wrapped all the presents there and then the officers brought the children to their waiting parents. 

They came back all smiles, bursting to tell me what they got. :)  And three of them insisted on driving their own shopping carts out to the car.  They wouldn't hear of me throwing all the presents in one cart. :) In the letter we were told they'd get an "undisclosed amount" to spend, but it was $100 each!  They got some good stuff and I'm glad they got to pick.  I know they'll like what they get this way. :) Such a big to-do.  Such a happy occasion.  I'm very thankful our boys got to be a part of it.

Hyrum

Joshua

Benji

Michael

As we took the presents from the shopping cart to the car and from the car to the house we had a few that got rips in their wrapping paper.  We ran out of tape, and Michael was kind enough to make me a shopping list so I'd remember to get more.  He thought of it and did it all on his own.  As you can see he even drew a picture of tape so I'd be sure to know.  Ah!  Melts my heart!

Cedar City

I love this place we live in, even if it is snowy and the HOA hasn't cleared the parking spaces.  I love this city.  I love going out every morning and seeing the mountains right there.  (Coincidentally, that's one thing I loved about Globe too.)  I don't know what it is about mountains, but I love them.

Just a few minutes ago I dropped the boys off at Walmart to shop with a cop.  I really want to know who it was that nominated Michael for that.  I'm so thankful to whoever that was and to the company that is doing this for letting the other boys join in too.  They have been so excited.  They've been making plans in their little heads for weeks.  It was fun to watch their faces as they were paired up with their cops (or firemen).  I heard Benji's partner say, "We're going to go for a ride in a fire truck.  Won't that be cool?"  And they get to do it with sirens blaring and lights going - in the dark because the sun isn't up yet.  But first they had to go see Santa.  They'll be fed breakfast and they'll get to pick their own presents.  I just feel so thankful.  I couldn't hold back the tears as I walked away from dropping them off.  It's such a smiley affair.  Everyone was so happy.  I wish I could watch them, but we're not allowed.  I should have planted a camera in the officer's shirt pocket. ;) I will pick them up in about an hour and fifteen minutes.  And all their presents will be bought. :D How's that for skipping Christmas shopping?  We are so blessed.

Another thing I like about Cedar City is that they clearly and proudly support our military.  The Utah National Guard has a division here in Cedar City (222nd Field Artillery Batallion), and shops all around have signs in their windows with well wishes for them.  The soldiers have been serving in Iraq and have been slowly coming home.  The last of them will be home for Christmas.  I think it's neat how they are sent off and welcomed home as heroes and supported throughout their service.  Everywhere around town there are "Welcome Home Triple Deuce" signs.  It's awesome.

Oh, my goodness, I can hear them!  There are emergency vehicles streaming down the freeway near our house with sirens blaring.  I went outside to listen and saw the lunar eclipse almost complete as well.  I'm bawling again.  It's just so neat.  Just imagine what excitement my boys must be feeling!  I wish I could see their faces!

Michael

We've been watching Despicable Me a lot lately. Just now Michael has been singing the opening song to that movie ("Sweet Home Alabama"), only what he's apparently been hearing is "We won't ride a llama."

Working

For the last few days I've been trying to finish book 3 of blog posts and weekly letters to family.  I've been up to my eyeballs in words.  I've been slowly slogging my way through post after post - copying, pasting, reformating.  And now that I've finished that part I get to edit the thing - very nearly 400 8 1/2 X 11 pages.  Yawn.  It makes me drowsy just thinking about it.

On the other hand, this is a joyful work I'm about.  I get to read through a chunk of our family's history, chock-full of minute details about our life together.  I have written about the ups and downs, the laughter and crying.  It's such a treasure.  I'm thankful to have a husband who supports and encourages this ambition and who will sit and read my books.  They are long.

It started snowing last night.  I heard the weather man say on Tuesday, "Get your errands done tomorrow because you won't want to do them on Thursday."  He was right!  If we were living in Globe and it snowed this much there is no way they'd even have school.  The busses can't get up and down those crazy hills in snow like this.  But life here goes on.  The snowplow runs.  Snow throwers are pulled out of storage and put to work.  And, boy, do I wish I'd already invested in a snow shovel.  I thought it was funny going outside this morning.  The snow made our van look very square on top.  The snow had filled a 10 gallon bucket I have sitting out there.  I still wonder what people here who mop the old-fashioned way (ahem - me!) do with their wet mops in the winter.  Snow was piled up level with the step outside our back gate so that you couldn't tell there was a step.  And I think there's enough snow on the tarp covering the bikes that it ought to hold the tarp down on the bikes for a bit. XD (We have problems getting it to stay when it's windy.)

Yesterday at his lunch hour Jeremy brought home a beautiful, bushy, fresh-cut piñon pine tree (which people around here call pinion pine).  We decorated it last night.   It's about 6 feet tall and our star will not stay straight, but it's beautiful and it makes our house smell heavenly!  I'm so happy to have it. 

Last night I was working hard trying to get Joshua to get his math done, and Jill was in need of attention.  She kept grabbing ornament after ornament off the tree, piling them up and handing them to me.  She also kept grabbing the ends of the garlands and yanking.  I felt like this may be a long few weeks with this tree!  I hope it's a lovely few weeks.  I just need to be sure to hold the girly before she demands it just when my hands are full, right?

In other news, one thing I really love about Jeremy is that sometimes when he comes home all sweaty from the gym he'll say, "I did arms today," and then have me feel his bulging biceps. :)

Thankful

People are so, so nice.  Today Joshua came home with stuff he'd bought at Santa's Workshop at school.  He said somebody had given him money to buy it.  I remembered how in the past one of my children has begged money off his friends for such things.  I thought that may have happened again.  But it turns out that that was not the case today.  Joshua said somebody in the office gave him an envelope that had $25 to use at Santa's Workshop and it was signed "A Friend."  He was able to get some things for himself and some for 2 of his siblings.  I'm so thankful.

Believe Ot or Not - a Chicken

This morning as we were getting in the car to take the boys to school Michael spied what he thought was a turkey wandering around the townhome complex.  Well, he was close.  I could hear a chicken clucking and we found an egg under our neighbors' car.  I think the chicken pecked a hole in it.  When I got home the chicken was uder a different car eating something out of a carry-out box. 

Thankful

Don't tell, but I'm falling asleep at the helm here, and it took me at least 4 tries to spell the title.

A few days ago I was at home minding my own bidness when the phone rang.  It was a lady from some coallition or other and she said that my son Michael had been nominated for their Shop with a Cop program.  She then went on to explain that on the day of the program Michael would be assigned a police officer who would take him to breakfast and then take him shopping at Wal-Mart!  She said he'll be given a $100 gift card.  She was so excited to tell me about it, and then she said, "So, is Michael your son?"  I said, "Yes, well, he's one of my sons."  And I kind of chuckled.  The she explained that this program is for children ages 5-12 and asked if any of my other children fell in that age range.  I told her I had 4 who did, and she said she'd add them to the list.  And she said we'd get a letter in the mail explaining more about it.  When we finished I hung up the phone and bawled and texted Jeremy.  I just could not believe it and I was so thankful that somebody would do that for us.  I had been wondering how we were going to pay for Christmas, and suddenly this fell in our laps.  Truly the Lord is mindful of us.  I'm in complete awe.

We did get the letter that the lady talked about.  It didn't say $100.  It said "an undisclosed amount" and it said that they would be encouraged to use it to buy something for themselves that they wouldn't otherwise be able to get for Christmas.  I say we'll thankfully take what we can get.  The boys are really excited and Joshua is counting down the days.  I look forward to hopefully being able to pay it forward someday.

Check This Out

Yeah, I'd have to say this top's Hyrum's tortilla burning record.  These made some pretty big flames in the oven! :O

After Tribulation

"For after much tribulation... cometh the blessing." - D&C 103:12

I tell you, this right here is a rare moment indeed.  I actually have two hands to type with.  Yes, these are the days I'm going to miss when I'm old.  I've been holding babies non-stop (even in my sleep) for the last few days.  It's a relief indeed when I can have my arms to myself, but I know that all too soon these days will be over.  All too soon these arms that ache to let go will ache to gather in.  So I hold these little ones anyway because there really is not much in this world more amazing than being a comfort, and there are few ways that demonstrate love as much.  I especially want to be sure that I hold them when they cry.  If my children are a party to heartbreak, by golly, their mommy wants to hear about it and assure them that they are loved.  Being a mommy is lots of hard work and tribulation, but I would venture to say that the Lord does not cease to bless us even during tribulation, and that's what makes our hard times beautiful in the end.  (And as a side note, if you haven't seen this video by Hilary Weeks, please do.  So, so true.)

Timmy hasn't been feeling well.  On Saturday as he was fussing I noticed that his gums were really swollen.  He's had a little bit of a fever.  He just is not feeling well.  I'm not sure what's wrong with his poor little mouth, but he has acted like it hurts and it worries me.  On Sunday night he woke up crying at about 1:00 AM and could not be calmed.  He had no desire to nurse as he usually does when he wakes up at night.  He flailed around crying for a long time.  We gave him Tylenol.  I paced the floor and bounced him.  I hugged and kissed him and rubbed his little back.  He calmed down for little snatches of time as I rocked him and he was able to grab my hair and stuff it in his mouth.  It was like he had an insatiable appetite for it.  But he kept losing his grip on my hair and crying again.  And it hurt my poor head.  Nothing was helping.  Finally Jeremy suggested we put him in the tub.  Just like magic, the boy calmed down.  I threw a few toys in there and he sat and played with them for a minute, but mostly he just wanted to stand and play with the water coming out of the faucet.  He was so pleased with it that I let the water keep running for a long time. 

Then he wanted to get out and sit on my lap.  I got him out and put his fuzzy sleepers on him again.  Jeremy handed him a Chinese ball (the kind that chimes when you roll it around or shake it).  By this time he'd started to fuss again.  He still didn't want to eat.  He finally calmed down again when we turned on the closet light.  Timmy loves to play with the yarn in my closet, so he went in and out of the closet a few times.  it is a magical place for him sometimes.  Then we rocked in the rocking chair and played with the ball.  He soon discovered once again the joys of throwing things on the floor just so I can pick it up again.  So I stood him in front of me as I sat on the floor, and he threw that ball down over and over and I picked it up again.  Finally, at about 2:00 he was ready to nurse and go back to sleep.  He woke up again a few times that night and flailed around crying again but he went back to sleep easier. 

Needless to say, it was a long night.  (And last night was also a long night.  It was almost a repeat of Sunday night's party.)  But when I went into the bathroom in the morning I saw those toys in the bathtub and remembered Timmy's fascinated smile in the middle of the night as he played with the water coming out of the faucet - his smile despite his tribulation.  I was suddenly thankful again for the time I have with this sweet little boy and his siblings.  They are tender mercies straight from a loving Heavenly Father.  They challenge and stretch me, and they bring the greatest joys I have ever known.  And I've found it surprising how often those greatest joys are in little things - like a boy taking a bath at 1:00 AM.

This morning Michael was feeling sad again when it was time to get out of the car and go off to choir.  I think I've learned from our past because these days I am actually glad of times like this.  They end up being sweet little moments with a bit of extra one-on-one time (a precious commodity around here).  These moments usually mean he needs a little extra attention anyway, so I take his hand and walk him into the school.  This morning we once again walked together to the gym/auditorium.  We said goodbye and he went in.  A second later as I turned to go he burst back through the door with his face all lit up.  "Mommy!  There's Christmas trees with Christmas lights on the stage!" he exclaimed.  Don't tell, but seeing his joy after sadness warmed my heart enough to make me cry a bit.  It's the same kind of warmth that I felt watching Jill try to comfort her crying brother in the night.  "It's all right, baby."  And the same warmth I felt watching little Timmy sitting in that bathtub in the middle of the night and suddenly remembering that he'll be 1 in a few short days.  Where does the time go?  Little ones grow up all too fast.  But for now I savor these small moments all I can.

And here's another small sweet moment: just now my little Timmy was standing by my computer table watching the movie Jill picked out (Despicable Me, one of her favorites).  He suddenly bonked his head on the edge of the table and said, "Ow."  It cracked me up.  It was like he did it on purpose and was surprised that it hurt.

Snow!

Today we got our first official snow in Cedar City! :D

Joshua playing before school

It's good sticky snow.  Benji made a good snowball.

Jill played for a few minutes and then her hands got cold.  She kept saying, "Wash it!  Wash it!"  So we went inside and made cocoa. :) I was kind of relieved that Timmy was sleeping.  He's not used to walking in shoes yet, and I can only imagine how frustrated he'd get trying to walk in shoes in the snow.

I keep thinking of that song from The Music Man: "We've got trouble right here in River City - with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool!"  It's really fun to have this first snow, but on the other hand, I know that we're in for a long winter and lots of snow.  I'm sad to think that it's ever going to be not fun.  The best I can hope for is that it'll just be ho hum instead of dreadful. :D But I can't help feeling that we've got trouble.  We're in for it.  We don't know much about living in the snow, even if I did grow up where we got snow.  It's different when you are the parent and when you're out driving in it and trying to figure out how to suit everybody up.  We don't have a single pair of snow boots.  Time for me to get busy - oh, and have a bunch of money to do it. ;)

But for now I'm enjoying this.  That cocoa I made this morning was yummy.  Jeremy took some with him in his insulated cup.  I should get him a thermos.  That cup kind of leaks.  What can you expect from a freebie? ;) It pleased me when after one cup of cocoa this morning he said, "I'm going to need to take that pot of cocoa with me."  I guess I did good. :)

I do want to apologize for slacking on this blog.  I've been lacking motivation to write because I want this to be where I record the happy things in our lives, and I didn't want to dirty it up with anything other than happiness.  The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful around here and I'm afraid I've grouched a lot.  I've been really tired and can never seem to get caught up on sleep.  I sleep backwards on the very edge of the bed with my pillow falling off the foot of the bed.  I do this because I have to nurse Timmy laying in bed in the night, so I just get him going and fall back asleep.  However, it's not the most comfortable way to sleep.  My neck has been funny.  Maybe the problem is that I struggle to hold the pillow on the bed with my head all night. ;) Just kidding.  My back has been sore after sleeping that way too.  I just don't think I've been getting quality sleep with 2 wiggly kiddos taking up the whole bed.  I'm sure Jeremy hasn't either.

Well, anyway, that's some of the trouble with a capital T we've been dealing with.  I've been thinking of weaning Timmy because of it.  But there's been a lot going on period and the changing seasons kind of wiped us out.  But things are looking up now.  Maybe I'll be better about blogging for a while.

Hooray for snow! :D

Our Church

Lately I keep coming across something that bothers me a bit.  I'm not upset by it, but it makes me feel that my church is being misunderstood.

Let me be more specific.  I don't know who my audience is, but for any who don't know, I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Our church has sometimes been called the Mormon Church or the LDS Church as well, and it is the same church that Mitt Romney belongs to.  Romney's run for the presidency has dragged in all sorts of old questions and prejudices about our church and I feel that I must speak out in some small way.  Please know that I do this not for Mr. Romney but for my church.  My desire is not to sway anybody to vote for Mr. Romney but to understand our church a little better.

First of all, there are many who say they won't vote for Mr. Romney because they've heard that our church is not Christian.  If you have heard this, please take a look at the official name of our church as stated in the above paragraph.  It is a name we delight in and states clearly that we are His Church.  A church cannot be His unless it seeks to follow Him.  Jesus Christ is the Savior or the world.  He loves the world and we love Him.  We try to live our lives to be like Him. 

I don't feel that I can speak as eloquently about this as I would like (and I'm not in any way an official representative of our church), but if you would like to know what we believe about Jesus Christ, please go see lds.org or mormon.org.  Both are official church sites and can therefore be relied upon to give accurate descriptions of our beliefs.  Please know, too, that we respect the beliefs of those who belong to other churches.  We seek to love our neighbors as Jesus taught, and we sincerely hope that others will do the same for us.  We love all people whether or not they believe what we do.

There are also questions raised about the validity of The Book of Mormon since it was written after  Revelation 22:18: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of … this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.”  If you would like an official church response on that, please read or listen to this article on our church website.  Also, this month's issue of the Ensign (a magazine for the adults of the church) is devoted to The Book of Mormon.  You can read all that here.

I also would like to refer you to one of the best talks I've ever heard about our Savior Jesus Christ.  You can find it here. (Or there's an abbreviated video version here.)

I can assure you that our church is not a cult.  I assume the belief that it is a cult comes from the fact that not everyone is allowed in our Temples.  The simple truth about that is that there are certain requirements for being admitted into the Temple, just like there are requirements for being admitted into God's presence. (http://lds.org/scriptures/gs/clean-and-unclean?lang=eng) The need to be clean and worthy to enter the Temple also urges us to be the best people that we can be.  It urges us to be kind and unselfish and to try to follow our Savior's example.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  I love Him, and we invite you to come to know and love Him too.

The Weather

I'm here to talk about the weather today. ;)

It has been really rainy.  Yesterday was cold and windy and brought a bunch of rain that lasted through the night.  I pulled out winter coats for the boys this morning, so of course that means that the sun has come out and the clouds are gone.  The boys were really excited about getting coats out.  This morning when I took them to school it was cold and I wished that I had pulled out my own coat.  There was slush on our windshield and snow on the mountain, and everything was wet.  I felt a little sorry for the marching band at the high school - out there marching in the wet grass and cold air - but only a little.  I served my time doing that. ;)

I must admit I'm excited about the cold too, even if it doesn't last long.  I made oatmeal and cocoa for breakfast, and that was delightful.  I even got fancy and put raisins in the oatmeal.

The view from our back patio today.  If you click on it you can zoom in to see actual snow on the mountain. :D

Today is picture day.  I'm really looking forward to some new pictures to put in frames on the wall.  Jill's hair has grown a lot since the picture I have on the wall was taken, and Timmy is no longer a newborn like in his picture on the wall.  They've all grown.  I hope the pictures all come out good.  Timmy has no patience to sit still since he started walking, and I cut Michael's hair a little funny in the front.  Dang it!  It's hard to get his right since it curls.  If I'd leave it longer you wouldn't be able to tell, but he's getting too old for that. :(

Yesterday I went to the gym early and ran long.  I guess I ran too long because now my knee is all messed up.  I'm not sure what's wrong with it.  Mostly it's ok unless I have to walk down the stairs (up is usually ok).  Ow!  Or every now and then it hurts just walking.  And I have to be careful not to sit cross-legged because that hurts it too.  It's really frustrating.  I don't like hobbling around.  I didn't go back to the gym today.  But I think I'll try to go tomorrow and just do my upper body or something.  It's good to do something.  It's funny, too, because it didn't start hurting until hours after I was done running.  It probably just needs some time.  And maybe some ice like Jeremy suggested.  I've been running around to parent-teacher conferences and stuff and haven't had time to sit still for that yet.

I'd better get on the ball.  Gotta feed Jill and give my babies baths.  Jeremy also has a full day today.  He's off in St. George for a few different things (including a trip to the Temple - I'm so jealous) and won't be back until about 3:00.  And Jeremy's dad should show up sometime today! :D I'm so excited.  I feel so silly that I haven't really taken pictures of our visitors.  We've been too busy visiting.  This time I'm determined to take some pictures. 

I do hope we'll get more rain like the weater people were saying.  It's been wonderful.  Last night after everyone went to bed I sat by the living room window in the dark and just watched the rain falling outside.  I love that.

Looking Back

Today I've been looking back over our expenses, particularly over the ones from our last days in Arizona and the beginning of our sojourn here in Utah.  (Isn't it crazy that we live in Utah?  Sometimes I suddenly remember that we're not in Arizona anymore and that we're living in Utah and I'm just kind of surprised.)  Looking back over those expenses makes me remember paying for this or that.  I remember our life there.  It feels surreal looking back.  It was our life, but a different life nonetheless.  And as I looked through everything I came away seeing a little bit how much we've been blessed.  This is the place for us now.  We know this is where we should be, so we are here, and we are clearly being blessed for it.  I'm so indescribably thankful.  I'm thankful for the Lord's hand in our lives, and I'm thankful to see it in a small way.

Now, if I could just find a new book of checks... ;)

Growing

Everyone is getting tall around here - from Hyrum right down to Timmy.  I need to get Hyrum some new pants.  He split out a pair doing who knows what last week and has a hole in another pair.  We've got one pair left.  And the way he's growing even the ones with a hole in the knee are getting too short. 

Jill is in size 4 dresses.  They're all a little baggy on her, but she's too tall for the size 3s and she's not even 2 1/2 yet!

Timmy's legs are starting to catch up with the rest of his body, so now the pants that have been so long on him are not as much too long anymore. :)

It's also interesting how much food we go through lately.  We don't go through cereal or bread nearly so fast when the boys are in school.  However, I bought 2 bags of oranges last week thinking they'd be around for a few days, but the boys ate their way through a whole bag in a few hours.  And milk!  It's funny to be at the stage where 2 gallons in the fridge means we're getting low on milk.  And I have to double and triple recipes all the time.  We can blaze through almost 3 whole pizzas in one meal. 

And, oh, the laundry.  It seems like I never get a chance to even get things folded!  I need to start havign everybody fold their own clothes, the bunch of whiners!  (I only say they're whiners because I can imagine how much whining would go on if I told them to fold their clothes.  I love them anyway. ;)  There's a lot of work to do around here and I simply can't do it all.  I have 2 big buckets of laundry overflowing in the living room that have been sitting there since Saturday (and they've actually been accumulating all week).  I can get clothes in the washer fine.  Sometimes I even get them in the dryer without having to wash them again once or twice because I forgot.  But getting them folded requires plenty of time and lots of, "Timmy, get away from the clothes!" and, "Jill, don't get Benji's pile!  Here, take your shirt to your drawer."

I'm getting better about telling the boys, "You WILL do this," instead of putting up with their nonsense and letting them push my buttons.  I'm still probably way too much of a pushover, but when it's time to clean up I'm hoping they'll soon figure out they'd better get their buns in action.  It's frustrating to just get started cleaning and then have Timmy call a halt to it all so he can eat.  I'm happy to feed the boy, though, and I've realized that that's the best time to tell the boys to get off their buns so I can hand out jobs.  It's funny that it takes that to get me to realize that I don't have to do it all myself.  Maybe I'll learn to do that consistently without nursing someday.

Jill has really been doing her best to be helpful lately.  Sometimes she likes to shadow me.  Sometimes it's frustrating until I realize that she just wants to help, so I've been trying to help her help more.  She's found her dresser now, so when she wants to help with laundry I can send her upstairs with a shirt or socks or something and it will end up in her dresser instead of Joshua's.  She always wants to help me sweep and was very pleased to help me mop on Saturday.  We both made plenty of grunting noises trying to scrub off gunk. 

It's cute how Jill mimics things.  :) On Saturday evening she watched as I cut the boys' hair, and then she informed me that it was her turn.  So she sat up on the stool and I turned on the clippers and buzzed them around on her head (I just lay them flat on her head and move them around pretending that I'm cutting - just like my Mama always did with her babies) and told her she was all done and it was so pretty.  She was pleased as punch.  She loves being told that she's pretty.  And all through the pretend cutting session she wiggled her head this way and that and said, "Ow, ow, ow!" just like her brothers. :)

Jill has had a fascination with scissors lately.  I'm doing my best to keep them away from her.  Sooner or later she's going to cut her hair.  I can just see it in her little obsession.  That will be a sad day.

Lately it's been fun to take Jill to the store with me, especially when we go to Wal-Mart and don't have to hurry.  Last week we went through the toy section looking all over for Play-Doh.  Play-Doh and pretzels are a conference tradition.  Jill oooh-ed and aaaah-ed at all the babies and the pretties.  There were lots of Dora dolls too.  It was so fun!  And she caught sight off the dresses as we drove past on our way to the food.  She told me about those dresses.  She definitely experiences Wal-Mart differently than the boys do, and it's fun to have her along to appreciate all the girly things with me.

Michael is so clingy.  He always has been.  But he's a little funny about it too in that if he's busy he has no desire to go shopping with me, but if he's not busy he is absolutely devastated if I don't take him.  On Saturday Jeremy and I realized that we had 2 babysitters in our home since Joshua is 9, so we sat Jill and Timmy on the couch and turned on Baby Signing Time and left all of the children home while we had a little alone time picking up pizza.  We weren't gone very long and Timmy was still watching with rapt attention when we got back. (Don't tell, but I have baby shows to thank for my ever getting the dishwasher loaded.) However, before we left Michael gave his all with his whining and trying to make me feel bad so I'd take him.  Then as we drove away without him he struggled his way up to peek his little face over the back fence, and the look on his face was just so despondent.  I felt like such a bad mother for doing it, but I laughed.  I laughed about halfway to the pizza shop.  It was just so darn cute and such a desperate attempt to push my buttons.  I wish I had a picture of it.

I've also been thinking - the older I get the more I'm just satsfied with myself.  I have a hard time feeling like I need all those beauty and fashion rules.  In fact, they make me feel defiant.  Who says I can't wear springtime dresses in the fall?  If I want to wear something, usually I'll just wear it unless it happens to be too hot.  And also, who says I have to wear makeup and tweeze my eyebrows.  I don't have time for makeup.  I don't like worrying about smearing.  I detest worrying about my lipstick and can't stand mascara.  I want to kiss my babies all day if I feel like it, and I don't feel the need to spend lots of money on makeup that I don't know how to use and probably woudn't use if I did know how.  I'll wear makeup once in a while, but I don't think I could ever wear it every day.  And not only does it take more work to keep up with my eyebrows than I'm willing to spend, but I don't see why anybody should have any problem with how God made me, even if my eyebrows are on the large side.

And that's how I feel about that. :) I'm just fine with how I am.

Changes

Timmy devoured a chocolate cookie I made on Sunday and smeared his chocolate handprints all over the laundry room door. :)

Our street is such a mess right now.  It's good that there's another way out to Main Street, but I sure wish that construction wasn't going on right now.  I can't even go running on our street anymore.

Last night Timmy was fussing because he was tired.  I had already nursed him, and he'd actually been asleep on the floor for a few minutes, but that never lasts long.  So I just laid on the floor with him on my tummy for a while, and eventually he was laying on the floor on his tummy next to me.  He turned his face towards me and I smiled at him.  He smiled back with his cute little gap-toothed grin and his cheek squished against the floor.  It was so breathtakingly cute I wished I could preserve it in perfect memory forever.  Then he closed his sleepy eyes for a bit before starting to fuss again.  So I carried him over to my chair and just held him thinking I'd need to nurse him back to sleep.  The next thing I knew he'd fallen asleep in my arms.  Sweet little boy. 

I love that the world is so new and fresh for him.  He has so much to learn and discover.  Just this morning he is eating an orang for the first time.  From the look on his face I should probably remove the peel. :D A few minutes ago he came and slid the mouse pad out from under my computer mouse and then shook it around, panting like he was so excited.  It's fun to watch his face and see the curiosity and wonder that he feels at little things that for me are mundane and everyday.

It's sad that little boys don't last.  They grow and change so fast, and these precious little moments are gone all too soon.  I love my children so very much.  I am truly very blessed to be able to have as many chances at this cute stage in a baby's life as I have had.  I'm so thankful for them all.

Timmy

My little fella is sure growing. But he still hates it when I leave the room. He cries and follows me if I don't take him with me, and then he cries until I pick him up or distract him. He also hates it when I do any sort of cleaning or cooking. He stays right on my heels crying. Poor little fella. If I start to clean the living room, for example, he drops at ever he's doing and starts following me. He follows me around in circles getting more and more worked up as I run around putting things away. And heaven forbid I should have to take anything upstairs!that's the absolute worst! ;) I feel so sad for him, but I never know what to do for him. I think he must be learning to push buttons. Distractions only work sometimes and I can only carry him when I'm doing some kinds of cleaning. Yeah, vacuuming and loading the dishwasher are pretty hard to do one-handed (darn vacuum cord!).

Although, Timmy does like it when I load and unload the dishwasher. He finds it pretty fascinating. He crawls over and tries to climb on the door and then he takes the silverware out one piece at a time and inspects it. Ooooh, and the dirty dishes! They are so interesting! Silly boy. I can distract him then, though. If I take him in the living room and sit him down with a toy and turn on The Wiggles or Baby Signing Time he will sit there spellbound while I finish up in the kitchen. I sure love that little one. Oh,and he's getting shaggy on the back of his head. I love that too.

Heven Help Us

My goodness.  I've noticed over the years that bloggers often misspell cliches and such.  I was just reading a blog today where the writer was talking about somebody putting somebody up on a pedestal, except she spelled it petal stool.  That's one of the worst ones I've come across.  It's crazy because the meaning is lost when people do that.  What does petal stool even mean?  It's also sad that nobody reads anymore.  If they did they'd know how to spell things like that.  Groan.
Also, please know I mean no offense.  It just makes me groan and feel a little sad.  I know some people have a hard time spelling.  It just seems like chiches should be easy to spell unless you don't understand what they are at all.

Future

There have been a thoughts I've encountered lately that have got me thinking about the future.  For one thing, I keep thinking about how my babies are growing so fast and how everyone I meet says that they will all be gone before I know it.  That thought makes me try harder to cherish the little moments in our family.  I want to remember that Timmy started clapping this week.  I want to remember that he got his fifth tooth this week and that his sixth is on the way.  I want to remember how Jill and Timmy licked the beaters from the banana bread I made today.  Timmy stood beside me and rubbed his sticky beater all over my skirt.  That was fine.  It's just my jean skirt and probably needs washed anyway.  Jill saw what Timmy was doing, though, and said in a concerned voice, "Skirt.  Skirt."  Then she came over and put the sticky part of the skirt in her mouth and tried to eat the sticky off.  I want to remember everything.  I think that's why my weekly letters to family are so long.  Plain and simple, I don't want my children to grow up and leave me.  But I think that grandchildren will be a lot of fun.  Still, this has been the most challenging yet most joyful season in my life, and I hate to think that if I blink I will miss it.  I hate to think that I will wake up someday and realize that this season is over, even if the next season brings much joy too.  It all gets me thinking and wondering if in the life to come we can be spared the pain and have more joy in the journey and progression.

Another thing I've been thinking about a lot is the fact that both Jeremy and I find ourselves at least once a day looking to see which child is missing.  I just keep feeling like somebody is missing, and so does Jeremy.  In fact, it feels to me like more than one someone is missing.  That's a crazy thought.  We already have a big family by any standards.  And it's not that we wouldn't openly welcome another little someone into our family.  It's just that the timing and persistence of these feelings is interesting.  We often have them soon before another baby is to join our family.  And no, we are not expecting right now.  (I'm just pretty darn sure, ok?)  There just seem to be at least one or two spaces that need filled at our table or one or two more little bodies to herd together for family prayer.  I guess we will see. 

All those thoughts, though, have me wondering where and when and how things will go with another baby someday.  How will I even find a doctor that I like as much as my old one?  And will I even be allowed to deliver at the hospital that we can see if we walk outside?  What in the world kind of crazy will the new doctor think I am having a seventh baby after having placenta previa/accreta happened with number four?  However, I believe in God.  I believe in His plan, and I believe that things will all work out in His timing (definitely the best timing).

Amazing

It's the middle of the night, but I just wanted to document some amazing little things in our little lives here.

First of all, my Dad was in a bike wreck last night and broke his hand in a few places. I'm not sure I feel 100% comfortable throwing this out on the web, but I have been praying all day for him. I figure if somebody else reads this and prays too, so much the better. Eitherway, this is something in my life that I'm thinking about, and I've got to talk about it somewheres. He will hopefully be able to get to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow and they'll figure out what needs to be done. I love my Dad so much. It pains me to think of him in pain, and I just pray that all will be made right.

Second, it thrills me to no end to see my little Timmy walking all over with his hands in the air lately. He is now walking more than he crawls. It's so amazing to watch that cute little tiny guy toddling around. He toddles across the room and then falls over. And then he stands right back up without needing to grab anything. He just pushes himself off the floor and toddles around some more. It is so darn cute.

Third, Jill's desire to avoid clothes has hit an all-time high. The last couple of days have seen her in varying states of undress. The problem now is that she wants to dress herself. She wants to decide what she's going to wear, and she prefers to put it on herself. She also changes her mind repeatedly before she can even get dressed. Today she found a laundry pile and tried on a bunch of the clothes. She put on one of Hyrum's t-shirts and came to show me because she thought it was so funny how big it was on her. Then she tried Michael's sleeper top, but she couldn't get her head through the arm hole and was really frustrated. She scattered that pile around the room and had a heyday. Yesterday we took her to Walmart in her silky nightgown because that was what she chose and I decided it was more important for her to be happily clothed than screaming and naked. She doesn't even want to wear a diaper lately. In a house full of boys I don't feel that I should allow that. Goodness, this is a hard stage sometimes! She so wants to be independent, but she's not quite big enough. But she's amazingly cute and her little smile melts my heart.

And, boy, is Jill amazing at testing her limits lately too! I'm a little afraid of the teenage years I have ahead. What in the world will I do with so many teenagers testing limits and pushing buttons? But it's neat to think of all the joys that are ahead, and those are what matter most anyway.

I'm thankful for my amazing and loving Heavenly Father for letting me try and try again and loving me all the way. I'm thankful for all the experiences He sends my way and for my beautiful family. I'm thankful to know that He listens and cares. Truly, our God is a good God.

Thinking

Here is a really thought-provoking post on another blog.  At least it's got me thinking, and I bet it will get you thinking too.

Joshua

Direct quote from Joshua today: "I want a tuxedo so I can look like I'm in a hurry."

'Round Here

This is such a funny picture.  It doesn't really look like Timmy - except for the teeth. :)

We have a tradition in our little family.  Boys get their first haircut on their first birthday.  Except Benji broke that tradition.  He had way too much hair to wait for his birthday!  Timmy isn't as bald as Joshua was, but I still wonder if he'll have anything to cut when his birthday rolls around in November.  I suppose we will see.

My poor baby has been fussing and rubbing his ears, especially at night.  I tried calling to get him into the community clinic to get his ears checked, but they don't have openings until tomorrow morning when I'm supposed to be at work.  It's not like I work all that often anyway!  This is the second time since school started. 

Anyway, it was a really long night last night.  It was one of those nights where in my younger years I might have been grouching in the middle of the night because I needed sleep.  Yeah, I've gained some patience over the years.  I took that poor little guy in my arms and nursed him over and over.  It's a good thing we've got that nursing-laying-down thing figured out or we may never sleep.  But it also means I spend a good deal of time laying the wrong way in bed so that he's not right on the edge of the bed.  I just throw my pillow on the other side and grab a blanket to throw over us, and then he starts nursing and we go back to sleep.  Last night, though, he kept snuggling closer and closer and closer to me until I had literally about five inches of bed to sleep on.  I was right on the edge.  And he woke up a lot.  I wish I knew what to do.  Maybe I'll just call a regular pediatrician and see if they can squeeze him in today.  Or maybe I'll get smart like Aunt Stacey and learn how to look in his ears with a flashlight to see if they're infected.  Hmmm...

Yesterday I cleaned a lot.  I've decided that what I've got to do to have a clean house is not to deep clean sporadically but to clean every day - several times, in our case.  Then it's just maintenance instead of crisis management.  Maybe.  So I swept the kitchen a few times.  I vacuumed and used the spot remover on the living room carpet.  And maybe if I just keep on top of that kind of schedule every day our house won't go to pot.  The only problem is that I'll never have time to do anything else. XD Sorry guys - no more dinner.  Ha, ha.  However, it's lovely having it all clean when I get up in the morning.

Would you believe it - we're barely into September and already the boys need a jacket for school in the morning, and Jeremy needs a jacket to come home from class in the evening.  Maybe that's natural for some people, but for us from Globe where it's finally starting to think about maybe cooling off this time of year, it's just new.  I'm excited for fall to come, though.  I'm looking forward to driving up the canyon to see the fall colors.  And I think the boys are excited about needing jackets for school.  Now if I can just get them to wear long pants...

Drama and Excitement

Yesterday was one of those days.  You know the ones.  I was running all day.  The house was a disaster, and there was no helping it because Timmy was in no hurry to be put down.  The mess drove me nuts all morning.

I finally got Timmy to calm down, so I cleaned the kitchen and laundry room and made dinner.  All the while I was trying to figure out upcoming school projects and help with homework.  I thought I was going to die before I could get to bed.  I just needed one minute of peace.

We were all feeling a little frantic.  And in the middle of all that madness it was time for Jeremy to go to school.  Jill heard he was leaving, so she hurried to the space where we keep the backpacks and frantically yanked and pulled until she got Hyrum's messenger bag out.  (He decided he wanted one of those instead of a backpack this year.)  Then she put the strap across her chest and shoulder and informed us that she was going too.  She was so set on going and was crying such an insistent cry that it just melted our hearts.  Jeremy decided maybe he could spare a few more minutes to take her somewhere, so they went for a little walk.  When they came back Jill was still dragging the messenger bag behind her, and she also had a sunflower.  She was so pleased.  We thought surely she was appeased.

But no.

(Maybe you need to zoom in for the full effect.)

As soon as Papa walked out the door we were suddenly bowled over with such a wave of dejection that I had no choice but to take a picture.

In the end all was well, though.  We turned on a movie and Benji brought her pillow and blanket downstairs and got her all tucked in on the couch, and she fell right to sleep.  I took her flower and put it in a vase that I thought was thick enough for her to carry all around if she wanted, and when she found it later she was so excited that she did just that.  And as for me, I got a good laugh at a good picture.  That always improves things. :)

And today was Michael's first day of school ever!



This is the kind of forced smile I get when he really is happy but I make him stop his running around for a second to take a picture.  He's so cute. :)  His teacher gave him that apple name tag at his assessment and asked him to wear it the first day.  And since the string bothered his neck she asked that I have him wear a higher collared shirt.  Michael was so pleased when I pulled this shirt out of the back of the closet, and he was excited to wear it.  He'll wear his new school shirt tomorrow when he doesn't have to wear his tag.  Oh and there's another Michael in his class whose last name also starts with a B. Good luck to that teacher!

Here he is at his desk.  And since we've already touched on the subject of dejection, take a gander at that poor kid with the mohawk.  Can't you just read, "I'm so depressed because my parents gave me such a horrible haircut," in his expression?  Me too.

Michael is feeling so big.  He went to school, ate school breakfast (yea that we're poor enough we get free school meals), and rode the bus home.  And then he sat right down and did his homework.  He loved that he got to take his backpack.  And when we got to school in the morning he had no intention of waiting or anybody.  He was ready to blow right in like a hurricane.  When I caught up with him I explained that he may not need me with him, but I needed to be with him.  I don't think it made a dent, but that's ok.  He's 5.

Good luck, Michael!  We love you!

Miss Jill

My little Jilly is learning every day. It's really fascinating to watch. Lately she's been learning about emotions. Today we were watching a movie and it came to a part where the guy was sad. Jill recognized that and looked up at the movie and said, "Sad. Sad." She has also begun to learn about being scared. She'll wake in the night and cry for Mommy or Papa. When we get to her we scoop her up in our arms and she says, "Scared. Scared." And if she's upstairs alone sometimes she'll come down saying that. But she's also learned that it will grab our attention, so she'll often say it just for extra smooches and hugs when we're already holding her. Cute girl. :)

Jill loves to talk about swimming and often uses it as an excuse to not get dressed. I make her at least wear a shirt and something on her bottom. She doesn't seem to like the feel of underwear yet. I figure that because she won't leave it on. But she does like to go potty and have us cheer for her. I've also learned that when she poops I need to know right away or she will take off her diaper and get poop everywhere! Every now and then she'll surprise us, though, and take herself to poop in the potty. Really I need to get her on a potty schedule and get the potty training done. Maybe if I tell you I'll do it on Monday that will get me to do it. But I'm not sure how confident I am in that. I'm busy and easily distracted. I'll just have to keep a timer going. And I need to figure out rewards because I don't want to traumatized her when she doesn't want to go and it's time. I'm all about bribes as long as they help the situation without causing future trouble.

Jill's hair is getting long, but mostly only in the back. She has some sort of mullet thing going on. I don't have the heart to cut it just yet. I still have never cut it. Maybe when the top and sides have grown more I'll give the back a little trim, and then I'll repeat, just a little at a time so I don't die. I am in love with those silky golden curls. It is such a delight to have her for my daughter. I'm thankful that we have a daughter, and I'm thankful that our daughter happens to be little miss Jill.

Life's Little Delights

Despite getting another bill that we thought was bogus and coming to find out it may be real, there is much delight in these little lives. :)

(Just backing up a bit - the bill was from an anesthesiologist for Timmy's birth, but we'd already paid an anesthesiologist and this one spelled my maiden name and last name wrong.  Weirdo!  But we looked it up on our insurance, and it looks like it's real.)

Timmy's been having issues lately.  I don't mean that to sound mean, but he's been fussy and drooly, and the house has been going to pot because before I can get started cleaning he starts fussing and I have to stop.  Certainly, I wouldn't trade a clean house or anything else for my little guy, but it does get frustrating - especially seeing the scrumptious spread of crumbs that has been laying on the kitchen floor for days just waiting for his searching little fingers to pick it up and eat it.

Through this small trying moment, though, I've been reminded time and again how fleeting this time in his life is - how short.  This evening after nursing him for the hundredth time I just held him until he woke up.  He slithered off my lap and sat himself on the floor looking up to see Popeye on the TV.  After a few minutes of craning his neck he simply flopped backwards and laid there on his back watching for a good ten minutes before falling peacefully to sleep.  And there he still lays, though Joshua has added a pillow and his own blanket to the affair and Jill is doting over him like the little mommy she is.

And yes, he does need a dry diaper.  He's about to get one, and I do hope he can stay asleep.  Any time he naps for more than a few minutes I feel thankful beyond words - and not because I'm getting a break.  I feel thankful because I know it will help him.  He just has such a hard time napping.

Another little delight was eating corn on the cob, though it was too late.  We've been eating four meals a day most days since we moved here.  I'm not sure why, but it felt natural.  We always get hungry before bedtime, and bedtime goes so much more smoothly if we're not going to bed hungry.  So we eat an hour or so before we get to bed and it's all good.  (We call our fourth meal supper.)  Tonight for supper I had cooked that corn and it was really good.  Hyrum asked how people get corn off the cob so they can put it in a can, so I showed him, just how my Mama taught me (just like she did it for her babies and how we did it together all those times to put it in bags and freeze).  They were delighted.  It was fun to show them something they didn't know I knew how to do.  I'm full of surprises. :)

Children (*Shakes Head*)

Yesterday was one of those days where I was scrambling to keep my sanity all day.  Just before noon Jill took off her diaper and pooped on the floor.  Then she got poop all over he legs and tried to clean up the floor with toilet paper, making a bigger mess.  Then I suddenly came on the scene and freaked out.  I threw her in the tub along with Timmy because one doesn't take a bath without the other.  That would just be too sad.  I whipped out my Clorox wipes and cleaned up the floor and then I cleaned up my babies.  We hadn't had lunch yet, so we were getting kind of frantic as I pulled them out of the tub.  I lotioned them up and tried to get them dressed.  Jill didn't even want a diaper, let alone a shirt.  (I don't choose to fight about pants with that girl unless we're going somewhere.)  I got Timmy dressed, though, and as I was trying to take care of Jill and both babies were screaming I got a phone call.

Guess what.  Benji got stung by a wasp on the playground.  He'd been given ice and burn cream and wanted to come home.  I had to talk him into staying.  I hate doing that because I feel like a mean mama, and I hate to take him out of school because then he misses stuff and also because I can't be there forever to take him out of his problems.  But I succeeded in bargaining with him.  I told him that if he still wanted to come home by 2:00 he could call me and I'd come and get him.  I hung up the phone and went on with damage control at home.

The only problem with our plan was that Benji's teacher was not on the same page.  She wouldn't let him call.  So 2:00 came and went.  I thought he must just be fine, but apparently he was still waiting.  When it came time to get on the bus there was trouble with a capital T.  Hyrum feels it's his job to make his brothers do what they should.  So when Benji insisted that I was coming to get him and that he wasn't getting on the bus, Hyrum tried to force him.  Benji fell and cut the back of his head.  He screeched out a blood-curdling scream (so Joshua says) and bled all over himself all the way home on the bus.  Jeremy took care of him as soon as he got home and he's fine now, but that's a great ending to the second day of school, don't you think?

Hyrum was really sad about what he'd done.  He is often more aggressive than he means to be.  That's just how it's been since he was tiny.  I think he'd make a great wrestler or football player. :)

Well, it all turned out ok.  Benji is healing.  They're back to fighting over Sorry (the board game), and Hyrum's back to telling his brothers about his "pure pyrite."  (Seriously, that stuff is PURE, he says, but then he asks me how pure it really is.  Who knows?  It's pyrite, for heaven's sake!)

And yesterday evening we had a little surprise visit from a little girl in our ward who is in Benji's class.  She told her mom and sister about Benji's hurt.  They made Benji some brownies and brought them over, all because the little girl felt bad and wanted to make sure he was ok.  After they left I turned to Benji and said, "You have some friends, Benji, huh?"  And he said, "Yeah," and smiled really big. :) That is worth a million bucks.

There really are some hard days around here sometimes.  But in the end there really is always a silver lining in our clouds.  The days do have their endings, and at the end I have a moment to lie peacefully in bed and think about the day and how I wouldn't trade these days for anything.  These sressful days are also filled with my children, and while I'm not always the best at filling my children's lives with love, I'm thankful for them, each and every one.  I'm thankful for every day I have with them.  I am so very blessed to even have them to stress about, don't you think? ;)

Pioneer Bombers

Michael just asked me an interesting question.  First, some backup information: Benji was born on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7).

So just now I was upstairs trying to get the boys in bed, and Michael asked me, "Mommy, what happened when I was born?"  I didn't know the context for his question, so I asked, "What do you mean?"  He said, "Like when Benji was born.  The pioneers bombed something."

Pioneers - Japanese - same thing, right?

School

Well, that magical day has arrived.  The three older boys had their first day of school today.  Michael will start on the 30th.  We got to the school at a great time.  We dropped the boys off in their classrooms and took a picture or two.  But before all that I made the children all pose for this picture.  Mean!  And I made them take turns pushing the strollers.  But overall it went really smoothly.  They were all excited and happy to be there.  And I do admit that I get excited for their first day - just like I used to for my first day.  But I miss them!  It's been really quiet at home.

I took Michael for his kindergarten assessment today and he did great.  I get excited at the thought of him learning to read (just like I did with his brothers).  It opens up a whole new world.  It'll be so great.

Michael has been telling me several times throughout the day, "Mommy, I love you.  And you're pretty."  It's enough to make me want to grab him and give him a big old smooch.  I'm going to miss him those few hours he'll be gone.

And this has nothing to do with school, but I've noticed that I can tell when my beans have started really cooking in the Crock Pot because that's the moment I start checking diapers because I think somebody's smelly.  It fools me just about every time.  But when I realize what it is I'm happy to have our house smell like that.

Thankful

Yesterday Jeremy gave us all blessings for the new school year.  Well, Timmy was too wiggly for it, but his siblings and I got one.  What a neat thing that is.  What an amazing thing that Jeremy can act as the voice of God to give us instruction and comfort.  I am thankful for this amazing blessing our family has.  I truly am a blessed mommy and wife.  I'm thankful that Jeremy can do that for us. 

The blessings were all really good.  Our need to be here in Cedar City at this moment was reaffirmed.  I am really curious to watch our children go to this new school.  They'll surely make new friends, and they will learn new things.  I think that Joshua's teacher is going to be really good.  He needs structure and someone who cares, and I think he's going to get it.  We all have a work to do here.  I hope that Benji will realize what an important person he is.  I think he struggles with that as a middle child.  And Michael has this independent streak that I hope can be turned in the right direction.  His independence surely can be a good thing.  I am sure that Hyum will find good friends and do well in school.  That's just what he does.  As for my little ones, I hope they enjoy this time together and keep building the friendship they had before this life.

Maybe I don't talk a lot about this kind of thing, but it's an important part of our life, and we are thankful for it.  And maybe not everyone understands it, but we believe it to be a correct eternal part of life.  We're thankful to have this closeness with God.

Missin home

Jill is following me around looking for a little extra attention.

I know this isn't the happiest thing to talk about on this happy blog, but I think Sundays make me a little homesick for Globe.

So instead of dwelling on it I looked at my old picture books and wished that I didn't have to turn my head so much to see the pictures we put in sideways and also that somebody would come and look at those pictures with me and remember all those days. But it was nice to remember anyway. I love that all the momories in there are happy ones and that the books are so full of people I love. I also found a newspaper clipping in there that supposedly quoted me and a few other high school students. None of the quotes sounded like me. ;) I wonder if there are pictures of me on my baptism day somewhere. I don't have any. Hmmm...

Today was also a day for remembering my Heavenly Parents. I missed my Heavenly Mother again today and thought about how my relationship with her is probably a really happy one. How neat it will be to see her again, and how lovely to think that she's there. How neat it will be to remember her and renew that sweet relationship that mothers and daughters have. It ought to be something nice like my relationship with my earthly mother. I do love my mothers. :)

Silly kiddos

Yesterday during dinner Benji suddenly asked, "Mommy, where's your minion?". I said, "What? My minion?" He replied, "You know - the lady from church who went with you to visit people." Minion - companion. Same thing, right? ;) I love that boy.

Last night just before scriptures Jill burst into song, and guess what she was singing over and over. "We will, we will wock oo." I guess Hyrum has that song on a CD, and she liked it. It makes me wonder what goes on in her cute little head. That song seems like such an abstract thing for a two-year-old to remember. Cute girl. :)

Little Fella

The little fella has cut through his top front teeth and when I stand him on the floor he can take one step. :)

There's Not Much That's Cuter

There simply is not much that's cuter than Jill sitting on the potty singing.  I love hearing her little voice.

There's also not much that's cuter than the way Timmy crawls over to me as quickly as he can (giggling the whole way) when he sees me lay down in the living room.  If I'm laying down he certainly has to play jungle gym with me, and if he has to, then of course Jill does too. :)

Summer

I love these happy, carefree, summer evenings.  I made too many loaves of bread plus some scones and posse stew, and then I went on and made cobbler.  The house was blazing hot so we opened the windows and doors.  This led to Jill and Timmy wanting to go outside.  So we did.  Jill threw rocks and Timmy ate them until I decided to move us to the grass.  That didn't last long before both Jill and Timmy wanted to play in the water that runs in front of the sidewalk.  Timmy kicked his little feet in it and splashed me all over.  Jill played with a rock in the water and watched how the water moved around her feet.  I made little paper boats like I've been wanting to for a while now.  First I had to ask Joshua how and look it up on the internet.  But we made those little Curious George boats (teeny tiny ones) and floated them down the little stream (don't tell that we littered).  And of course Timmy fell on his back in the stream and then sat in it until his legs were all red from the cold water.  Now Benji is outside piling rocks in the water to make a dam.

I love these cool evenings.  I savor them and wonder what the changing seasons will bring.

Jill

Last night I sat in Joshua, Michael, and Jill's room as they said their prayers.  I held that little Jilly as she cried because she wasn't going to get to play with Michael's little toy laptop.  And then I helped her say her prayers after she calmed down.  Then I sat and held her some more and thought about what a privilege it is to be a mother - and not just any mother.  It is a privilege to be my children's mother and to hold them as they fall asleep (even though Jill didn't fall asleep in that instance). :)

This morning I went out and ran 4 stinkin' miles.  I've run 4 miles before, but not only has it been a while, but I've never run them up the hill facing the wind and the sun.  Sure it was a small hill, but it was still a hill and I was very tempted to give up.  But I didn't.  I ran those 4 miles.  I did my cooldown walk around the townhome complex.  I read my scriptures, drank some water and stretched.  And then I fell asleep in my recliner.

The next thing I knew I heard Jill talking.  She was peeking through the bars of the stair rails saying, "'Leeping.  A 'leeping."  (Mommy's sleeping.)  Then she saw the cup I'd left on the piano bench next to me and said, "Trink a waduh.  Trink a waduh."  (Drink of water.)  Then she came down the stairs and got my cup and brought me some more water, all the while repeating, "Trink a waduh."  She likes to give me water. :)


When she handed me that water this morning I also noticed that she had white stuff all over her chin.  I smelled her.  It was toothpaste!  Jeremy said she went in the bathroom and brushed her teeth and then got a mile-long piece of floss and had him cut it for her, and then she sat there flossing.  Silly girl. :)

It is fun to hear her learning to talk better and better.  She gets so excited about going swimming ("A Shwimming!") and taking a bath ("a bathie!").  (When she wants something or wants to do something, or even when she's just talking about something she usually adds "a" at the beginning.  It's cute.)

In other news, my poor little Timmy has a bonk on his head.  It's a vertical line of a bruise, and neither Jeremy nor I saw him get it.  We think that yesterday while we were both busy he must have climbed the stairs and bonked his head on the railing.  Poor guy.  I do kind of wish he wasn't so fascinated by those stairs.  He loves them.  I have such cute children. :)