For My Sister

Who just had her second baby.

This is a picture taken of me
shortly after bringing home my second child.
Do I look...

Confused
TIRED
OVERWHELMED
ALL of the Above

That is because I was.
I remember feeling all of that
and wondering if things were ever going to get back to normal,
you know when I only had one extra mouth to feed and bum to change.

Well, the answer was yes but it was a NEW normal.
I got use to having two little boys to take care of
and began again to enjoy those moments
that mothers have, be it good or bad.

You just have to stand back and remember
how blessed you are to be able to have these spirits in your home
and in your life. It is a blessing to be a MOTHER.

So with the passage of time
my view has changed because
when I look back at that time in my life,
yes, I thought I was overwhelmed with two,
but now with five, I know that I am overwhelmed.

Good Luck Jeni May.

EIGHT is GREAT

At least according to this young man.

He was so excited to be turning eight.
I hope the big day didn't disappoint.

Of course what he is most excited about is
the big BAPTISM which is just 12 days away.
And of course it is official,
now that he is eight,
he finally gets to go to Pack Meeting as a cub scout,
in a real cubs scout uniform.

Here are EIGHT great things about this boy I love.

ONE - You are a water boy.
You have always loved to play in the water
and still do. Exhibit photo number one.

TWO - You are a competitive boy
especially when it comes to your brothers,
always trying to keep up with them and trying to out do them.

THREE - You have natural athletic ability
and have been playing soccer since before you were three.
You strive to do your very best in your games
but thrive on playing as a team.


FOUR - You are the only one of our children
that was born in a different state.
To me you will always be my little California Boy.

FIVE - You have never been into toys that much
but you are are good game player.
Whether it be a board game, video game or sporting game,
it is in your nature.

SIX - You are a thinker. You are great at school
and an AWESOME reader.


SEVEN - You are a helpful BIG brother,
to not only Miss M your sister who you adore,
but also to your only younger brother
who looks up to you.


EIGHT - You love to share. It is easy for you to think of others.
You sometimes will get a certain treat
knowing that you will be able to share it with your siblings.

I am so proud of the boy that you are
and happy that you are part of this family.
I LOVE you my blue-eyed, blond California Boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Mother's Day

A Mother's Day treat for me
is being able to get a picture with all my children,
individually and all together.
Of course, this is NOT a quick and easy task
but the result is awesome.

Something I treasure
and can look at year after year
to compare and see just how much they have grown.

The Theatre

We, as a family, got to go to a play this weekend.
The play had our second son in it.
He was Max - from "Where the Wild Things Are".

It was fun to see him on stage
performing all that he has learned,
and to see him enjoying the crowd's reaction to him.
(reaction coming from his family FAN base).

Great Job Max.
See you next year
same time, same place
different play.

Times of Trouble

Lately my life has been a little hard.
Things are happening that are out of my control.
It is stressful, financially challenging and depressing.

But then I see something inspiring like this My New Life,
a video about blogger Stephanie Nielson.




Hers was one of the first blogs I ever read
and couldn't stop reading.
She is inspiring.
And to see her trials makes mine seem so miniscule.
She reminds me that I need to trust more and come closer to
my Father in Heaven.

O Canada

A few Highlights from our trip to Canada

This is the city of NELSON
where my Dad served part of his mission
over 44 years ago.
It is nestled between mountains
and surrounds this gorgeous, very long lake.

It is also the place where my oldest got to attend
his very first Priesthood Session of Conference;
with his Papa, in the place his Papa had served his mission
so many years before.
Pretty cool.

Another favorite city we visited was WHITE ROCK.
It is near the border and sits on the coast
where when you go out to the beach and look over the bay
you can see Vancouver to the north
and the State of Washington to the south.

Here the kids got to explore outside the car.

We went through Banff National Park
and drove between lots of TALL mountain ranges
and even saw a few glaciers.

And the kids were HAPPY to see
that even in Canada there was McD's.

In Vancouver we...

took a beautiful scenic drive up to Whistler Mountain,

tried to get in to see a few of the Olympic Venues
but we were denied because they were ALL shut down,

walked around Stanley Park
where we found this familiar sight and got rained on,

and attended the open house of the new Vancouver Temple

that was built in Langley.

This is the monument we saw at the border heading back into the US.
Engraved on this side was,
"Brethren.Dwelling.Together.In.Unity"
and on the other side it said,
"Children.Of.A.Common.Mother"
Love that saying.

On the way home we stayed in Seattle.
First time I had been there.
We went to Pikes Place Fish Market.
They sold fresh fish there of course
but also fresh flowers and all sorts of other crafty things.


Despite the Hours and Hours of driving,
it was interesting to travel to where I had never been before
and to see the different cities where my Dad
had spent two years of his life serving the Lord.

When I asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was
guess what they said...

Yep, it was the water slides at the Hotels we stayed in.