A Drizzly Day

 It was another cold, rainy day today and I didn't mind in the least. There is something about the chill in the air and the fresh smell of rain that brings a feeling of peace and a sense of calm. I hung out in the greenhouse while it drizzled rain on and off. The little boys played in the sandbox, oblivious to the falling drops. Grampa would fill their buckets with water every time they came into the greenhouse and then they would lug them back to the sand box to play some more.

I finally got around to planting my pumpkin plants! It's something I've never grown before so I'm excited about it!

I also discovered that Sawyer needs somewhere to hang out while I help Grampa water/weed the greenhouse. We found the perfect solution! This swing was a gift from my brother when he came back from Nicaragua and it has been through all of my boys!

After getting Ollie down for his nap, my Mom and I escaped to town to buy some plants. I've been wanting to visit The Plant Ranch for a while now and even though it was rainy, it smelled and looked lovely!

I refrained from buying everything in sight, and got some awesome ideas for next year!

We also found some Honey Berries (Haskaps) and picked one up to replace the one that didn't make it last year.

And a rainy day wouldn't be complete without a batch of cookies. The first pan made it out of the oven just before the kids arrived home from school. They were pleasantly surprised! I had to stash half of the double batch in a container in the cupboard so they wouldn't eat them all before the next day.

Sawyer: Six Months

It's so hard to believe that we have already had half a year with our Smiley Sawyer. He has been a dreamy sixth baby and fits in perfectly. At six months he is rolling and moving around. If he is on his back he can kick his way across a room. I often find him crying in his crib with his head stuck against the bars because he only moves one direction right now. 

He is so close to sitting up on his own and has started getting his tummy off the ground during tummy time. He's been working on those core muscles and I'm sure he will be crawling before we know it! 

We've had a few crazy puking sessions after a small bowl of rice cereal, so we've paused our grain intake for now and are sticking with fruits and veggies. Nursing around the clock is sometimes difficult and most days I feel like I don't get much else done around here. He's got some nice thigh and wrist rolls and is growing so well!

He also just cut his first tooth! I didn't think his smile could get any cuter, but it did! Happy six months Sawyer.

Hello Gorgeous

 It was a long, long night. Camilla slept in my bed since Daddy was away and by the time morning rolled around I had three children in my bed. Hyrum walked in at 7:00am and exclaimed in a whisper, "EVERYONE is in your bed!" I drew my finger to my lips to shh him and then snuck out of bed shortly after Camilla and Ollie, leaving a sleepy baby in the middle. Hyrum and Joe excitedly told me how they had already been outside to play in the sunshine and fresh morning air. It was a gorgeous day!

 Finley was still sound asleep on the couch while the morning sun poured in the front window. I threw his bedding in the wash late last night and sent him to the couch to sleep. 

We took advantage of the warm weather and walked to the bus stop at the end of the lane. The boys loved waving off the big kids to school and the fresh morning air was so nice. 

Sawyer woke up with his first tooth yesterday! He was super happy through it all, but woke up for snuggles a few more times during the night. Now he is back to long naps for the next little while until the next tooth decides to make an appearance. 

The hens are enjoying the warmer weather and love being outside scratching up grub. I love going out to the coop in the afternoon to gather the eggs and can't wait for our new hens to come online soon!

Enough

Today was a good day, but definitely left me feeling drained and like I didn't give enough to everyone and everything demanding my attention. My breakfast dishes sat on the table all day and were only cleared when I finally served dinner. The little boys and I were gone all morning and arrived home just in time for naps. Fin and Ollie both ended up napping which I am now regretting as they are still not asleep. 

I rushed off to pick up the kids for piano and soccer shortly after the little boys fell asleep (thanks Mom and Dad for watching them) and didn't get home until dinner. Sawyer is teething which has turned him into a huge mamma's boy and our nights have been terrible. Soccer practice was freezing cold again with a little less wind than last time. Sawyer snuggled in the sling and fell asleep while I blew the whistle every ten minutes to let them know when to rotate stations. When I got home I simultaneously made bread dough, dinner, and a cup of hot tea (to thaw my frozen bones from soccer) while the baby whined in the highchair. I really made a conscious effort over dinner not to look at the clock or worry about the time. We chatted about school and what we all did today while everyone slowly ate. Camilla and Ollie danced around the kitchen to music and we all took turns picking songs and laughing together. 

As soon as dinner finished there was hardly time to clean up since I wanted to get the ball rolling on the bedtime routine. Most of the littles grabbed jammies out of baskets of clean clothes that have been waiting to be folded for days. I feel like my washing machine pretty much runs non-stop trying to keep us all in clean clothes. After everyone was jammied we jumped on my bed for a quick scripture study and night prayers and then brushed teeth. The older three read and wrote in their journals while I tucked in the younger two (who got out of bed shortly there after). The baby was starving and hadn't eaten since just before soccer, so I rushed through tucking in the older boys trying to thank them for their help and being awesome for their coaches. 

By this time the bread dough was oozing over the edges of the bowl and needing to be put into pans. I read Camilla a few pages of Heidi while nursing the baby to sleep, but when I put him in his crib he woke up right away. Camilla helped me make the cheese buns for lunches and then I tucked her in and sat on the couch with a cranky baby. As I surveyed the damage (toy bins all over the living room, costumes dumped on the floor, blocks everywhere, the vacuum still out because I intended on using it today, my crochet project stuffed in the corner waiting to be finished, the dishes stacked on the counter, dinner needing to be put away) I began to feel very overwhelmed.

There is never enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs doing. I am often up hours after the children have gone to bed folding laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, or making school snacks, because it's the only time I can actually be productive. Then I wake up at the crack of dawn to feed them breakfast and get some morning snuggles which leaves me exhausted by the early afternoon. For the most part I've adopted the attitude that whatever doesn't get done today will (most likely) get done tomorrow. Some days this is harder to do than others and today is one of those days.  Sometimes I think it would be really nice to have a clean house and be able to walk through my kitchen without my socks sticking to the floor because someone made themselves a jelly sandwich and ate it all over the house. For now I am just trying my best to roll with the punches and embrace the chaos. 

More importantly though, I constantly worry if I am giving my children the individual attention they deserve. Am I listening well enough? Am I asking the right questions? Am I spending enough time with them? Did I give them enough hugs? Did I forget to feed anyone today? Did I lose my patience too many times? Has someone gone to sleep feeling lonely or left out because of something I did or didn't do? Is anyone getting lost in the shuffle? Sometimes even after I go to bed for the night these thoughts swirl through my head filling me with doubt and making sleep slow to come. 

Motherhood has stretched me in ways that I never knew it would. The levels of exhaustion a mother functions on are unreal. The sleepless nights are relentless. The demands are endless. There is no completing one job before moving on to the next. In my role I am constantly circling from one thing to another before actually completing a task. But I am grateful for the way this role has refined me and continues to teach me about serving selflessly and doing small things with great love.

But now my nose is telling me that the cheese buns are ready to come out of the oven and I think I am definitely going to eat one and have another cup of tea because it's looking like I have another long night ahead of me.

First Boat Ride

 This morning Mr. Stannix changed the dead battery on the truck so that he could pick up the boat! He has been anticipating this day for quite some time now and eagerly waiting for the weather to warm up. The littles helped him uncover the boat and load up the life jackets and then we took off to the lake after lunch. The older three were begging to blow up the tube to go for a ride but mamma knows best. It was a cold and windy day and I knew that once we got out there no one would want to ride the tube. I made sure to pack extra sweaters and jackets for disbelieving children and they were sure grateful for them once we got on the water!

 Last season we were blessed to always have an extra adult accompany us on the boat which made unloading and loading so much easier. Since one of us had to park the truck, half of the kids got in the boat before we launched it and the big boys held a rope on the dock in case the boat wouldn't start. Luckily she fired up on the third try and Mr. Stannix didn't get blown half way across the lake. 

 The water was choppy and the wind was cold. We had to work the kids over their fears again and take our time on the water. Our cautious Camilla was not happy at all about the rocking boat and the speed. But Mr. Stannix was so happy to be out on the lake again!

 Ollie white knuckled this bar the entire time the boat was in motion. When we got out the oreo cookies for snack Ollie kept asking, "Can we please go eat on the cement?" He hasn't quite given up his land legs yet it seems! 

 The sun came out a few times and it was so nice when it did! The big boys rode up front and enjoyed the wind and the spray on their faces.

 We spent a lot of time just floating around in the middle of the lake eating snacks and listening to music.

We lasted about an hour before we decided to call it a day and head back home. I had forgotten about winching in the boat to the trailer when we load and ended up having to wade waist deep into the chilly water. The wind made it difficult to load, but we managed ok! Everyone is already talking about tubing and knee boarding. Now we just need the weather to cooperate! We finished off our evening around a campfire with friends and came home smelling of smoke and lake air. My face is sore and I can't tell if it's from the wind, the sun, or smiling too much. It was a great end to the long weekend!

Sunday Snapshot

We had a pretty crazy Sunday! I hardly had time to sit and listen to anything because I was constantly hauling children out of the meeting! After church Hyrum and Joe helped set up chairs for the potluck. It made my mamma heart proud to watch them helping and serving. Hyrum has really grown and matured over the last little bit and I love watching his quiet ways and his desire to be good. Hyrum sat next to his cub leader and Joe sat next to his piano teacher and the two of them chatted their poor ears off the entire time. On the way home from church I was thanking the boys for helping out with the chairs and Hyrum said, "I want to be good for the rest of my life, it makes me feel so happy." I love that he recognized the good feeling he got after serving and knew that he wanted to feel that way always. It was such a simple, but profound statement. Even though I changed two poopy diapers during the potluck and sometimes feel like I can't juggle one more thing on Sundays, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's so nice seeing the older kids willing to help and serve in and outside of our home. Soon I will have big strong boys to carry my groceries, lift heavy things and hold doors open for me. And while I look forward to those days, there's a small part of me that doesn't want these days to end anytime soon. 

May Long

 We kicked off our May Long Weekend with some long time friends! Our desire to see them outweighed our great desire to stay home and have a quiet weekend, they are just that good! We enjoyed a super low key fire shortly after arriving, roasting hot dogs and eating smores. The boys love their huge trees and had fun playing games and jumping on hay bales. We also got to enjoy their new pup, Monty, who is just the sweetest. I was too busy enjoying our visit around the fire that I only managed a couple of pictures. The girls were off playing together, so I didn't get any of the two of them! We always enjoy good conversation and deep discussions about various things. All of our kiddos sprawled out around the basement in sleeping bags when bedtime rolled around and slept soundly until morning. We enjoyed a morning of play and fresh air before heading home. 

Soccer Mom

I sure do love watching these boys every week even if it takes me a few hours to thaw out after each practise, it's totally worth it!

Here to Stay

 After a busy weekend I couldn't wait to get outside this morning and admire the leaves popping on the trees! It's always so exciting when you wake up and the world looks a little bit different. I feel like the trees budded out over night and I love the extra splash of green in my life. Watching the seasons change is one of my favorite things, it keeps things exciting! I am looking forward to boating, campfires, a luscious green-house, blue eggs from our new hens and the smells of Summer!

 We spent most of our morning walking around the acreage. Sawyer hung out on my back in the carrier while the other two little boys ran wild. 

Grampa came with us to see the new chickens and admire the greenery. My little Brahma's are loving being outside and I just love watching them wander around with their feathered feet!

 The apple trees are making good progress this year and the orchard is looking good! We walked around the big garden admiring the fruit trees, the rhubarb spring up from the ground and the haskaps showing off their berry potential. 

 While the weather is nice I like to avoid cleaning in doors and instead spend my time outside. After tucking in Ollie for his afternoon nap I ventured back out to the garden to help weed the strawberry patch and water Mom's freshly transplanted cabbages. The warm weather and light breeze put Sawyer right to sleep and I enjoyed a few hours playing in the dirt!

The greenhouse is coming along nicely and we are slowly getting things planted each day. Grampa, Fin and I planted the cucumbers this afternoon. Some of them already have flowers on them! The tomatoes and cucumbers look so tiny now, but it won't be long before they are taller than me again and I for one can't wait to eat a toasted bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich. As the day came to a close I looked out the kitchen window and watched Ollie throw his head back laughing as he played cars with Hyrum in the sandbox and my heart was filled to the brim. Now that the days are longer, bedtime is almost always pushed later, especially on beautiful nights like these when everyone is getting along so well and enjoying the fresh air! It looks like Spring is finally here to stay.

Mother's Day

 This Mother's day was unforgettable! It was so full of wonderful things that made me laugh and cry and filled my heart to the brim with gratitude. Mr. Stannix woke early with Oliver and made me breakfast in bed. As I nursed the baby in bed half-asleep I loved listening to the whispering going on in the kitchen. It was so nice to relax for a while in the morning and not have to jump out of my warm bed right away! I was presented with a hot tray of food and he even tucked a love note under my knife and fork. While the older three dressed themselves for church, Daddy was able to make the younger boys look presentable. He brushed and put gel in all of the boys hair and I only had to get myself and Sawyer ready, which was a real treat. 

 We had family in town for Hyrum's baptism and were able to get a non-self-timed photo of our entire family (including the dog, who just happened to be out wandering around with us, and was made to sit by Camilla). It is sure a blessing to be the mom of these six littles! 

 We were ready so early that I even got some baby snuggles in before we had to leave for church. I could kiss those chunky cheeks all day.

 With so many family members at church, the littles dispersed themselves between a few benches, sitting beside a favorite Aunt, Uncle or cousin. I couldn't help but tear up as I watched my Gramma sing the Sacrament hymn. For some reason it was really touching to watch her sing, even though she can't see the words in the hymnbook anymore. She handles her trial with such grace and I admire her for it. As the meeting went on the tears kept coming while I watched my Dad get released as Bishop of our ward and my dear husband get called into the new bishopric. Each of the six men were able to share their testimonies and I felt such peace and calm as I listened. The meeting finished off with a beautiful tribute to mothers.

 After a quick lunch at home with all of our family we went back to the church for Hyrum's baptism. He has been waiting and preparing for this day for so long and he couldn't stop smiling the entire time. I hope he always remembers how good he felt today and that he will always have that desire to follow his Savior.

 We are so blessed with supportive family who traveled far to be here. Everyone was a huge help with the meals and preparation and clean up. Great-Grampa gave an excellent talk on baptism, reminding him of the covenants he is making with his Heavenly Father and the things that he is promised in return. 

 Gramma gave a great talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost and gifted Hyrum his quilt that she spent so many hours piecing together and stitching. The quilt is like the Holy Ghost in that it comforts us and helps us feel warm and safe. Hyrum put it on his bed as soon as we got home!

 I am so proud of Hyrum for choosing to be baptized and follow Jesus. He is a great example to his younger siblings and is often the peacemaker of our home. He has a gentle spirit and a great love for others. We are blessed to be his parents!