Small victories

My little family has been dealing with a lot of trials as of late. I have found myself with very little time on my hands. The thought of it had me very nervous at first but have found that it was for my own good. I learned to appreciate the small victories in my day. An empty dishwasher, a folded load of laundry, a vacuumed floor, a quick hug, a dinner prepared, a workout done. I am finding satisfaction in the redundant and never ending jobs of a mother. One thing at a time. I'm grateful that for now things seem to be looking up and hope to hold onto my this new found sense of accomplishment.

Life is good

Life...or CRAZY (as we call it) has been just that...a little crazy.

Despite this...I am learning to love and enjoy my boys more and more every day. I feel like we have really drawn closer as a family lately and I have been enjoying every minute of it (okay, not EVERY minute).

Here are a few pics of things we have been enjoying:

Aunt Christy visits....we miss her terribly


Group lice treatments....SUPER FUN! (cough, cough)


Computer time


Tasty family home evening treats







Cute baby Kian smiles


Reptile shows






Kian...Kian...and more Kian....the whole family adores him.

Life is good......

Growing like weeds

It's been two months. I can't believe it. My baby is getting so big. It's sad really. But...it happens. That's life.

I just changed my pregnancy blog to a blog where I can keep track of the stats/growth/accomplishments of my children. I entitled it "Growing...like weeds"

If you want to check out Kian's growth stats...or just take a look at the newly constructed blog just click the picture of my boys on the side bar.

Happy looking.

In memory of...

What a wonderful day we have had today.

It was fun.

I am happy.

We started off the day at a super fun breakfast/brunch at a friends house. Yummy food...good company. The kids had a really good time running around and playing. Me...talking.

Next...home for the second round of lice treatment (not much fun, in and of itself, but HOPEFULLY it will be the last)

Then I got to go for a jog. First post pregnancy jog. 4 miles. Not too bad. I was just happy to be outside exercising and being by myself.

Lunch

Nap...always a good thing.

After naps we headed off to a local cemetery. We don't have any family buried nearby but really wanted the kids to understand and appreciate just what Memorial Day is a celebration/remembrance of. We explained all about the sacrifice the brave men and women of our countries armed forces make in order to fight for our freedom and the freedom of others. It was neat. They actually listened and were interested. I am so glad we did it.

The cemetery was BEAUTIFUL. There were hundreds of full sized flags lining the drives billowing in the wind...each representing a soldier buried there. We walked along reading some of the names, visited a few monuments/memorial and read a lot of head stones.

They had a small lake in the center of the cemetery. We enjoyed watching the swans, fish and turtles. A lady there was letting a red heart balloon go in memory of her daughter. She let it go just as the swans were coming near us. It scared the wits out of them. They started flapping their wings and tails...it was hilarious. The fish were huge and enjoyed scarfing up the bread people were throwing out to them and the turtles were sunbathing. The kids LOVED it.

We found several "Doody Doody Town Town trees" which the kids enjoyed playing under. (side note: Doody Doody Town Town was an imaginary friend of my brothers. He lived under a big pine tree (whose branches hung down to the ground (like an umbrella) leaving a hollow space underneath for Doody to live) in the cemetery in Orem, Ut where my grandfather is buried.) It brought back really good childhood memories. I had to call "Uncle Andrew" and tell him what we found. :)

We ended the day with a hot dog, bratwurst, and chicken BBQ...and left over cake and ice cream for desert.

What a good day.

Standing in that cemetery, watching all of those flags billow was amazing. I was filled with a great sense of peace and an even greater sense of respect and thanks for those men and women who are beyond brave and whose love for their country and their fellow men urge them to put their own lives at risk for what they believe in. You are amazing! Thank you!

Life has a way...and we survive

Life certainly has a way of teaching us by lending a bit of perspective. Things that once seemed horrible and not all that horrible in light of something even worse.

But...we human beings are much stronger than we think. At least we can be with Heavenly Father's help.

(and with the help of a WONDERFUL husband as well)

This weeks has been REALLY trying.

I have suffered from some pretty serious anxiety and worry but...I just kept going (thanks to a blessing I received from previously mentioned wonderful husband). I wondered at times if I would crumble but tried to rely on faith to get me through.

What an experience.

For now...things are better.

Hopefully this particular trial is over...if not, I KNOW I can deal with it. One step at a time.



Note to Jenn: Thanks for the encouraging words. Heavenly Father really does have a way of showing us just how strong we are. Your words REALLY helped.