Ready, set...JUMP!

Here are my three oldest--jumping in for our first official swim of the season as a family! Kelly's parents came for a visit during May and it was so fun to have them down--Mackenna followed Grandma around asking for mints and makeup--such a girl. Carter and Chris wanted to show off their latest "moves"--whether it was their self-taught karate or gymnastics--I'm surprised no bones were broken. It was fun, though, to sit back and watch my kids with their grandparents. It is hard to live away from family! As I watched them all playing together and visiting it made me sad to think of what my kids are missing out on--living so far from grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins...it makes our trips up to Utah and Idaho the highlight of the year!
Life is good though--each day something new! I've been reading a book on changing perspective to help your relationships and it has made me think alot lately--lots of introspection--which I think Kelly is sick of...he may try to hide this book from me--but as I've read I see lots of characteristics and attributes in myself that aren't my favorite. I can see how I cause the friction in my relationship with Mackenna--that it could really be alot easier with her than I let it be. I see that my pride gets in the way of how I communicate in my marriage. It's really opened my eyes to my responsibility over my own emotions--and that my circumstances don't determine my happiness. It's kind of scarey stuff--but I feel like it has changed my life--even if that change is one that only I can see--and if it is only small at first--it is there...
I want to be so much more than I am--and there's alot to do...but I'm ready--so I guess all that's left to do is just...get ready, set, and JUMP!

Mom--I'm a Champion...

So--yes--I've not kept up with my blog lately! I honestly feel like I've been running non-stop the past few months! I just wish I had the body to prove it :) Oh well--there are certainly more important things than what size of jeans I wear.

I really have to stop and brag for a minute--Carter's little flag football team won the league championship! It was a long and HOT day (and so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa with us)--but worth it in the end to see all the relief on the faces of the parents when the Cowboys took 1st place! I'm not sure the boys really understood the win--but they loved the trophies!

It was really fun to watch Carter grow during the season--from not having a clue and dancing around the field to being excited about the plays...and yes--still dancing around the field. One thing I noticed about Carter is that he didn't get angry when things didn't go his way. That to me is more important than any other skill he could have learned. He was a great sport--even when the coaches (and Dad) came down on him--which they did! He is such a good boy and I love watching him grow up even though it is bittersweet.

For the past few weeks now he'll be busy with something and he'll just randomly turn to me and say, "Mom--I'm a champion!" At first it kind of made me laugh--especially for those of you who know Carter--you know that he is RANDOM!

But now that he's said it several times to me, it has started me thinking...and I'm glad he feels that way. I need to be more of a cheerleader for my kids--so that even if the world is telling them differently, they know that their mom thinks that they are champions. It seems like there is alot out there right now to drag kids down--so all the positive they can get--we should give. So--yes Carter--you are a champion and I hope you never forget that!

Oh help!

Wow--sometimes as a parent you have those moments with your kids when they suddenly share a toy--without being told or they say a sweet, perfect prayer. Well--I wish I could say that I was going to blog about one of those moments--but.....
We had family home evening last night and decided to make churros as a family. I was hoping to throw in a little spirituality so I asked each of the kids to share their favorite scripture story. Mackenna (of course) likes the story of Baby Jesus. Carter loves the story of Ammon chopping off the arms of the Lamanites that come to scatter King Lamoni's sheep. Then (sigh) it's Christopher's turn. He tells us that his favorite scripture story is the one with Laman, Lemuel, and General Grievous. For those of you not familiar with General Grievous--he's a character from Star Wars. I guess I now know that Lego Star Wars is having more of an impact on my 3 year old than the scriptures! Wow--I feel like a great mom! :) Oh help!

It's been awhile...

WoW! I can't believe how long it has been since I've last posted. Things have been so crazy lately! And the silly thing is--I can't even think of why it has been busy...I've been running lots

of errands and stuff--but nothing fun or exciting. Oh well--I guess that's life--mostly mundane and not front page news--but life none-the-less (at least my life). But I sat today at lunch watching Christopher try to make Tessa laugh and I had the thought that it doesn't get much better than this. Soon they will be grown and want nothing to do with me (actually, that seems to happening around age 7).

At church yesterday Kelly and I had to speak and we tag-teamed it with the kids. My topic was the Resurrection and all week long I had really been struggling with what to say about it--but as I sat on the stand and looked down to see Kelly wrestling with all 4 kids--I realized why the Resurrection is important to me. Not only does it give me hope that I can keep trying--but that no matter what I can be with Kelly and my 4 crazy kids--even through death. It made me so emotional--I wonder what hope people find who don't have the gospel in their lives. There is so much going on right now that it would be easy to get down and discouraged...but knowing that Christ overcame everything--and that He did it for you and me--and that He is in charge, brings me such great peace. Does it mean my life is perfect? No way! But it gives me the hope I need to keep trying. Kelly did such an amazing job on his talk, too! People came up to me afterward and asked if I had noticed how quiet it was when Kelly was speaking--he really did awesome.

Hopefully now I can get back on track and keep posting the crazy times we have at our house! I was really sick a few weeks ago--flat in bed--and Kelly got to be Mr. Mom for 4 days--poor guy! One night while I was sick, Carter threw up in bed and was diagnosed with tonsilitis. So--yep--fun stuff!! Kelly really stepped up and even folded the HUGE mountain of laundry that had piled up...I really appreciated it! I feel so blessed...things are good...I'll write more soon!

Seeing what's right in front of me...

So this past week we received a fun letter from my nephew Chase. His class is reading the famed "Flat Stanley" book and sending out their own "Stanleys" to have adventures--so Chase sent Stanley to us. He went with us to walk the kids to school, to Carter's flag football game, to the park, dipped his toes in the pool (which is slowly starting to warm up--hooray!), and as you can see from this pic--he smelled our orange blossoms! Part of the assignment was for us to write down some things about Arizona and it really made me start to think about where I live...

I don't think I can do it justice, but I will try to describe how it feels right now in Arizona. I just went outside to shake off last night's popcorn blanket and there is a light cool breeze blowing...clouds are scattered throughout the sunny skies. The breeze gently lifts your hair and then it hits you--this amazing combination of blossoms and flowers. We have two orange trees, a grapefruit tree, and a lemon tree in our backyard and it smells like heaven. I LOVE walking the kids to school each day because we pass by this beautiful tree that has cascading purple blossoms on it--they look like a mix between bunches of grapes and soft lilac flowers--and they smell incredible--as my friend Natalie says--a little like grape kool-aid. I sat out in the backyard today and looked around and just breathed. Talk about aromatherapy....

And I wondered...how do I not see this everyday? I live here and can walk past beautiful flowers without so much as giving them a glance--or I rush to my minivan without pausing to breathe in the frangrant air. How do I miss the blossoms, the morning calls of birds in the trees...the chatter of kids playing at the park--the wind rustling the branches of the swaying palm trees, the quick smiles from my kids when I bring out the popsicles...

So I guess I should be saying "thanks for the homework Chase!"--it helped me to sit back, look around, and really see what's right in front of me...

A few of my favorite things...

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens....just kidding...but how can you not sing that song when you think about your favorite things? Just last night as we finished off our family home evening, I sat back (as Kelly so kindly put the kids in bed) and thought about some of my most favorite things...

Each morning when Christopher comes in to our room, he climbs up on our bed and onto Kelly's back--just like a little monkey. It brings a smile to my face and is the best start to my day!

Tessa's little personality is really starting to shine through and I just LOVE it when she scrunches up her face, totally concentrates and spits...she is so funny and sometimes surprises herself with how loud she gets!

Mackenna is growing up so fast--and I think she wishes she could grow up faster. One of my favorite things about Mackenna is her style. She loves BIG bows in her hair, crazy socks and lots of lipstick. She is brave when it comes to fashion--and I must say she has come up with some interesting combinations--but she manages to pull it off. She's so sassy...and most of the time I love it! I'm sure it will get really interesting when she turns twleve :)!

And last night, Carter was my favorite! Kelly had the kids getting ready for bed upstairs while I fed Tessa. Carter was heading to his room and stopped at the railing to yell "goodnight mom, I love you!" I told him the same and then I blew him some kisses. He blew kisses back to me and I said, "Oh--I just felt one hit me on the cheek."--to which he replied, "I just felt one on my chin...no wait a minute..." (he stops to think) and says..."I felt it in my heart".

Now I know that I'm still VERY emotional from having a baby...but it melted my heart and I was very nearly in tears.

Those are the moments we live for as mothers...those brief glimpses of love at home. It makes all the crusty looks, the groans about dinner, the stinky diapers, the whining about chores, the laundry, the stickers on furniture and marker on the wall--worth it. It's that tiny peek at happiness that keeps us going even when we don't know if we can (while maintaining our sanity). I'm just grateful to God for those tender mercies...when He shows me how much He loves me--by helping me see how much I love my children--and by helping me see how much they love me...in spite of me.

So--to be true to Julie Andrews--when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad--I simply remember my favorite things (namely--Kelly, Kenna, Carter, Chris, and Tessa)--and then I don't feel--so bad!! (It really has a much better effect if you sing it!!) :)

So happy together...

So I post alot about my kids...they are just so cute and funny! They keep us hopping and guessing most of the time...

Sometimes I think Kelly gets pushed into the background alot...I get in to "mom" mode and it's all about potty, snacks, too much TV, snacks, playing outside, and snacks. It's hard to slow down sometimes and remember that I am someone's wife, too.

Luckily I married a great man who supports me in what I do! He encourages me when I'm down and helps me be realistic when I'm taking things too personally or going "over the top" on things. He helps me see that there is more to life than just getting things done--it's about the doing...and enjoying it. He and I definately have our differences but I think that is what makes us strong--if we were both like me, we'd be in a mental hospital by now!! Sometimes I just sit back and think how blessed I am to have married someone who has the same goals in mind that I do--even though our ways of getting there aren't always the same. Probably the thing I love most about Kelly is that he makes me laugh. He can get me laughing even when I REALLY don't want to. I look back at my life and when I think of the many decisions I've made--marrying him was by far the best decision I've ever made. I don't think happiness in marriage comes from snuggling all the time and from never fighting or never being apart. Happiness in marriage comes from knowing that he loves you even if (and that's a big if) you snore at night...okay, so it's more than that--it's trust, tolerance, forgiveness, friendship, patience, love, and a hope that together you can someday get it right. At least I know I got one thing right...and I'm married to him...