Sunny Afternoons

Oh man, today started out rough. I spent most of my night awake with Joe who is fighting with sores in his mouth. After dealing with the two boys all night I was one tired mamma. The whining continued into the morning and my patience was wearing thin. After much crying for all of us, we had some early naps. Camilla was a huge help with Finley while I consoled Joe. Her favorite saying is, "No job is too big, no baby too small!" She says it in her superhero voice and it cracks me up every time! At lunch in her prayer she said, "Thank you for Finley. Thank you for Finley making it safe outta Mommy's tummy." Super funny.

After lunch we all went outside for some sunshine, fresh air, and fun! While the older two were getting the sled ready to go, Joseph pulled his car out of the garage. Silly boy, it's not Summer time yet!

It was fun to get out with all four of the littles for the afternoon. I needed to feel the sun on my face and breath some fresh air. It was a great turn around to the day we were having! We laughed and played in the snow for a long time. I think we went around the block about three times. Maybe next time I will venture somewhere else with the toboggan. 

I love the way Camilla makes her own fun. "Pull us faster, Mom! Wahooo!!" It was hilarious. Then both of the boys got into it and soon we were all laughing. Finley slept the whole time we were out, but I'm sure the fresh air did him good too!

The rest of our afternoon was pretty chill. Camilla did some reading and spelling in her workbook. School hasn't been a big priority in our lives at the moment. I'm not feeling too badly though because she's plowed through her kindergarten book and is working through a grade one book now. We also learn throughout the day as we play and talk. After dinner we made a quick trip to London Drugs to get my laptop fixed again. Joseph played with my car keys while I chatted with the tech, and I didn't notice they were missing until we made our way out to the parking lot. When we went back in to look the older two took off thinking they knew where we were going. The tech guy told me where he saw Joseph hide the keys (in a pocket in the stroller) and I thanked him and went on my way. Camilla then came running back telling me Hyrum was lost. I knew he wasn't far, but for the first time in my life I was paged to customer service for my lost child. "Attention customers, could Hyrum's mom please come to the customer service desk". I left embarrassed and in a hurry, but it was bound to happen one day right?!

Super Dad

I got a new calling at church today. This guy held down the fort and successfully got all four kids to bed while I was playing piano for the choir! He's a pretty super dad!

Artsy Fartsy

This little guy is quite the artist lately. Anything that keeps him busy for more than five minutes is pretty much the best thing ever!

Lovely Weather

...For a sleigh ride together with you!

Be of Good Cheer

My mind has been filled with so many thoughts and different emotions this week. I have been dying to sit and write and felt inspired to share a few thoughts here on the blog. It seems that everytime I feel inspired to write something I can't find the time! As this new year has begun I have struggled to set goals and feel joy as I fight with the baby blues and live off little or no sleep. I have finally decided that my theme for this year is to "Be of Good Cheer". I searched pinterest for a cute little printable and put it up in the house where I will see it often. As I've been reading talks and studying scriptures related to this theme I have totally been inspired and motivated to live my theme more fully this year.

I have been thinking a lot lately about our angel baby and the heartache and sorrow I was feeling at this time last year. I felt that this trial was some form of punishment and that I maybe didn't deserve to have another child. It took me a long time to overcome these feelings and to realize that a loving Heavenly Father would never do such things. I am so grateful for the things I learned from priesthood blessings and for the strength I was given to press forward each day with hope and faith. As I read through some of my old journal entries I was grateful for the perspective I gained and the way my relationship with the Savior has deepened.

The other night while doing dishes I listened to this really great talk from general conference and loved what he had to say about trials. One thing that stuck out to me was when we said, “often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into your life because of what you are doing right”. I feel like if I approached my trials with this perspective, it would be easier to cheerfully endure them. It also made me think of past trials and realize that they came into my life as an opportunity to grow and stretch.

A few days ago I stumbled across a really good talk by Neal A. Maxwell and I loved the paragraph where he said, "Then the perceptive among us voted not secretly, but audibly—by shouting for joy! Let us not go back on those feelings now—for we saw more clearly then what we are experiencing now! May God help us to be of good cheer, for this is the forerunner feeling which precedes that glorious condition when our joy will be full!" It might be easier to be cheerful each day when we remember that we shouted for joy at this opportunity to live on the earth and have these experiences.

I love love the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 78:18 which reads "Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along". It really gives me comfort to know that an all knowing, loving Father in Heaven is in control.

Aside from enduring trials with cheer, I mostly picked this theme to help our home be a better place. It is so hard for me to greet my children cheerfully in the morning when I've gone to bed too late or am running on little sleep. But I want to choose to greet them each morning with a smile and a hug. I want them to remember a cheerful mommy, not a grumpy one. I want to learn to smile when bowls of cereal are accidentally dumped on the floor, or when the children are learning to work out their differences. I want to laugh more this year and to feel the joy that comes as we spend time with family and get a glimpse into eternity.

I came across this awesome quote the other day by William Morris and fell in love with it. I think it will also be paired with my theme. Instead of just floating through life day after day I want to live each day with this quote in the back of my mind. I want to take interest in all of the details of my day. I want to remember the way I feel when I look at the pink sky each morning as the sun comes up. I want to instill in my memory the feeling of soft baby hands on my face or chubby toddler hands holding onto my own hands. I want to remember the sweet way that Hyrum smiles when he's genuinely happy about something. I want to remember Camilla's spontaneous hugs and the way they fill me up with love. And I want to remember the way Mr. Stannix makes me feel so special each and every day. I know that as I acknowledge these blessings in my life each day I will be able to "Be of Good Cheer" as I live each day this year! It's going to be a good one!

Snow-bots

We woke up today to beautiful weather! The littles and I ran an errand bright and early and I was surprised at how warm it was. I even let Finley grab some fresh air as I transferred him from his carseat to the baby carrier. When we got home the kids ran in to get their snow gear on. They spent the rest of the morning and some of the early afternoon in the backyard making "snow-bots". The snow was perfect for packing and building things. After two days of being sick, the fresh air was much needed!

As I was watching them today I was reminded of a favorite video.  It starts out with the quote "Moments are the molecules that make up eternity". I had some of those moments today. Moments that put things into perspective and filled me with joy. I experienced this joy when Joseph grabbed my hand with his sticky little hands and led me away from the dishes to build towers with him downstairs. I was filled with this joy when we began dancing spontaneously in the kitchen after our hot chocolate, laughing out loud as we spun and spun until we were almost sick. I felt overcome with love and joy when Camilla raced up behind me at the kitchen sink and wrapped her arms around my waist for a hug. I enjoyed another one of these moments when Joseph began cheering me on as I rolled his chunk of play dough into a worm. "Go Mommy! Go Mommy!" And I enjoyed a final special moment when Hyrum said, "I love you, Mom!" at bedtime tonight before I did. 

 

I finished off my day overcome with gratitude for my children and the sweet little moments we get to share together no matter how chaotic the day. Being a Mom is definitely one of the most important things I could be doing right now.

Don't Worry Be Happy

After spending all night awake with a hungry baby and a puker it's been a pretty long day. I started feeling pretty frustrated with life around 3:00am and had a nice little pity party in my rocking chair. I figured there was no way I could handle four kids the next day, my baby wouldn't sleep, and I was so tired I could barely function. I knew if I called for help from Mr. Stannix he would happily sacrifice some sleep, but I also knew that he needed his sleep so that he could work hard for us the next day at work. Just after I got Finley to sleep, Hyrum snuck in to inform me he had puked all over himself and his blankets. I think I finally crawled into my bed around 5:00am, just as Mr. Stannix got up to start his morning routine. I slept for about an hour until Joseph made his way to my bedside and begged for "bepest". I sent him downstairs and Daddy took care of his hungry belly. When he was full and Daddy had left for the day, he brought the iPad up and snuggled into bed with me. I spent the next few hours nodding in and out of sleep until Finley needed to be fed again. 

Once we finally got up and got dressed, I spent the rest of my day alternating between nursing sessions and holding the puke bucket while I comforted Mr. H. He slept most of the day away in his bed when he wasn't throwing up. When Fin was asleep I tried my hardest to get things done in the kitchen, but Joseph was pretty much attached to my pocket or leg whining all day long. It was rough. We were all very glad when Daddy came home! I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for Camilla's help and Finley's baby smiles.

Joe's running a temp now too, so it looks like round two tonight!

Little Man

Our little man is growing far too fast for my liking! He is hardly squeezing into his newborn clothes these days. I try to take at least one picture of him each day just to document his growth and change. At this age they grow every day it seems and I don't want to miss a moment! He's been spending a bit more time awake and loves when his siblings crowd around him and fight for his attention. Most of the time though, he just sleeps. I suppose all of that growing tuckers him out a bit!

Sunday Best

Sometimes afternoon church is nice because it means we have time to get all spiffed up. I love that I get to hang out with these cuties all morning long. Mr. H was looking pretty handsome and I was so glad to get such a great picture of him! I feel so very blessed.

Sleepy Smiles

After almost three weeks I think we are finally getting back into the swing of things. I successfully got groceries with all four kids and even got out to visit friends this week. Having a Winter baby is totally tough because you want to keep them out of the cold as much as possible. Although it's been lovely to cozy up at home for the last few weeks, I enjoyed the few moments we got to be out and about. If I'm being totally honest though, I'm too tired to go out much these days anyways. Finley is an amazing day time sleeper, but we have had our fair share of long nights. He's not terribly cranky, he just nurses often and prefers to sleep close to someone. I sure do love watching him sleep though. Especially when I can catch his sweet little smiles or listen to him chuckle while he sleeps. This boy melts my heart!