The Lights

When the baby wakes you up in the wee hours of the morning and you find yourself pacing the floors, but you notice the Northern Lights dancing out the window and then find yourself outside in the chill of Winter with a baby snuggled in a blanket on your shoulder and a cold deck beneath your toes... How blessed am I?! So grateful for this view if I have to be up in the middle of the night!

A Big Win

There is always so much happening in our little corner of the world that rarely do I have time to sit and write it all down, but life feels pretty sweet these days, so I've carved out some time before bed to quickly recount a few events from the day.

I adore spending my days with these two! I love when I can play with them on the floor and make them laugh and giggle. I love reading to them, baking with them, and learning along side them. Lily often enjoys playing make believe games on her own, and will emerge from her room in a princess dress and whatever else she wants to add. Cooper is extra busy these days exploring and running around the house!

Camilla started driver training today and I still can't believe I have a child who is almost old enough to drive on her own! Her instructor told me she would be the one in the green bronco with the sign on the roof as I was relaying information to Camilla about where to meet her etc. As I drove in this afternoon for Hyrum's Final basketball game of the season, I noticed a green Bronco driving towards me and turning onto the same street as I was. I laughed out loud, knowing it was Camilla, and had Finley snap a picture while we followed. 

The boys have been working so hard this season and have come so far! Their final game was a nail biter for sure as the point spread was always by just a couple of baskets and they teetered between being ahead and being behind. When the last three seconds of the game rolled around, Hyrum drew a foul and got to take two shots. The score was 41:40 in their favor and the extra points on the board definitely wouldn't hurt with 3 seconds to go. Hyrum shot his first ball and it bounced off the rim, but his second shot swished putting our points up to 42. 

The boys held on until the end and we ended up winning first place in our divison!

So stinkin' proud of these boys for all of their hard work and effort this year. It's been so great watching Hyrum learn and grow with the help of an amazing coach! 

As soon as the game ended I remembered I had put chicken breasts in the oven before I left and frantically called Mike to turn off the oven because I was sure they were burnt to a crisp! So glad he was working from home! When I started the van afterward I realized I still didn't have a lot of gas, but we really needed to get home to get dinner going, so for the second time today I drove home with the gas light on. We didn't make it home until 6:30pm and while I had cooked the chicken ahead of time, I still had to make the rice, so we ended up having a very late dinner. I enjoyed sitting at the table with chatty kids, listening to them interact and also tell me stories about their day or things that happened in the game. 

Cooper can now climb up onto the couch all by himself. And once he does he just flails all over the place giggling his head off. Pray for my sanity!

And just as I was ready to tuck him in he found a dry erase marker lying around by the chore charts. All of my children are destined to be artists it seems! So glad it was dry erase and not permanent. He fell asleep on my shoulder shortly after and is now sleeping soundly in his crib. I'm certain he tired himself out from climbing up and down the bleachers all afternoon at the school and running out of the gym trying to escape! If he can manage to sleep through the night, I will feel like I'm winning at life too!

St. Patrick's Day Sunrise

This morning we had the most beautiful sunrise complete with frost covered trees and tangerine skies. The view out my bathroom window was savored as I got ready for my day.

 

The leprechaun only managed to find enough chocolate gold coins to hide in each child's lunch kit today. Hopefully he brings more next year! 

I spent most of my morning uncovering my kitchen counters that were buried beneath dishes. The sunshine pouring through the windows brought an extra measure of cheer to my day as I worked.

Once the counter tops were found, I covered them again with all of the eggs that I needed to wash. These dark chocolate Copper Maran eggs never get old! They brought me so much joy coupled with the blooming tulips on my table. Spring is just around the corner and I can hardly wait! 

Sawyer Bean

Sunday Snuggles with my not so little guy!

Love him.

 

And That's a Wrap

Today the boys played some more hockey! This time Cooper and I got some prime seating right behind the bench and got to watch Daddy coach. 

They ended up winning, and it felt good!

While we were away, Camilla and her basketball team had their wind-up at Boston Pizza. So grateful for her coaches and for these girls! They've worked so hard this year!

A Weekend Tournament

This weekend took us to the mountains for a hockey tournament! We brought Cooper along to cheer on Hyrum and Joe, but left the rest of the crew at home. It's always a juggle having multiple kids in multiple sports, but somehow we are able to make it work! Uncle Ryan and Auntie Emma brought the little cousins to watch a game and it was so fun to visit with them (while wrangling Cooper). 

When we got back to the hotel, there was pizza for the team/parents and the boys spent a good chunk of time swimming. The pool was packed! When the pool finally closed, we headed to our room to wind down for the night. As I paced the floors trying to put Cooper to sleep, I thought about the kind of love a mother has. 

It is the kind of love that has you pacing the floors in the middle of the night with your eyes closed and a restless babe in arms.

It's the kind of love where you stay awake long after the rest of the house has gone to sleep, getting things ready for the next day.

The kind of love that takes you to every sporting event so that you can cheer loud and smile big when they check the stands.

It's the kind of love where you sacrifice a treat to bring someone else joy.

The kind of love that never runs out it seems. It just keeps being replenished day after day.

Making Ripples

Today I had to drive the big boys in at 6am to catch the bus for the middle school ski trip. I woke them at 5:30 and they quietly made their way into the dimly lit kitchen. Cooper slept on my shoulder while we visited in whispers. They toasted themselves a bagel and packed their sandwiches they had made the night before into their lunch bags. I double checked with them that they hadn't forgotten anything important and we left in the nick of time. 

I came home to a sleepy, quiet house and cuddled on the couch with Cooper for ten minutes before Camilla began packing her lunch in the kitchen. "You can turn on the island lights," I said, slightly louder than a whisper so as not to wake the babe sleeping on my chest. Soon everyone else tip toed into the living room for our morning study a prayer. After our devotional, Daddy said the prayer and I felt the spirit. Then, Daddy and Camilla were off to early morning seminary and it was just me and five littles.

Eventually I got three more out the door to the bus... and then there was two! I spent the rest of the morning tidying the entry way, vacuuming the kitchen and living room and finally having a shower. Dad came over to visit and we just sat in my freshly cleaned living room visiting about life, hopes, dreams, having teens.

As I made lunch, I came across this beautiful quote.

"A mother sows seeds for a forest she will never see. Long after she leaves, the blooms will stretch into gardens, and the trees will strengthen and grow. The ripples she made will be the whisper of a thought or memory. She leaves behind her love, her touch, her tiem. She leaves behind her motherhood in the warmth that shines in others. On and on, long after she is gone." ~Jessica Urlichs

One day, I hope they remember how their Mamma showed up for them every day, every event and milestone. I hope they feel how I cared deeply for them and their spiritual well being. I hope they will remember feeling nurtured and seen.

We finished the evening off watching Camilla's basketball game via live stream. It's always a treat to watch from the comfort of our own home when we are unable to make the long distance drive to get there. 

 

Streams of Sunlight

The bright streams of sunlight streaming through the windows was incredible this morning!

Cooper ended up having an 8:00am nap because he was so tired. 

I did a quick tidy and vacuum and then ran Hyrum into school.

When I got home I washed the icky van, made some lunch and then put Cooper for an afternoon nap.

While he slept I got some work done and raided Mike's mini egg stash. 

I am exhausted! It feels like it should be Friday instead of Tuesday.

 

A Blanket of White

Monday started bright and early again with sleepy eyed children following each other into the living room, wrapped in blankets for our morning study. We woke to a big dump of snow and the world was blanketed in white once more. Spring is such a tease! After breakfast Camilla loaded up her backpack for her school day and her basketball game in Camrose, and it was giant. Oh the life of a student athlete! 

I enjoyed a beautiful drive into town to pick up Camilla from Seminary and she even treated me to a yummy drink at the coffee shop. I sipped my gourmet caramel steamer all the way home and enjoyed the peace and quiet very much!

Once I got home I shoveled the back pad and watched Dad plow the laneway (so his bus wouldn't get stuck again). Then began the normal hum drum of cleaning and laundry etc. Lily wore princess dresses and sang all day long, and I have a couple of boys home with sore throats.

Cooper is becoming quite the dare devil lately and loves bouncing around on the couch. I always make sure to grab tightly to his shirt so that he doesn't throw himself off onto the ground. After everyone was in bed, a late night grocery shop was in order because we were running really low on school snacks, fresh fruit and milk. It felt good to crawl into bed at the end of the day!

Time Change

The time change kicked our butts! We played musical beds all night. Cooper finally slept in his crib after three nights of snuggle on the couch. He was up every three hours though (he's cutting some molars) and sounds like he has a sore throat. 

Hyrum woke five minutes before we had to leave, hair askew, checking cupboards for food. We all went to the van and when he came out I noticed he had forgotten his tie, so he ran back in quick to grab it. Camilla drove us to church, Hyrum set up the sacrament, and Joe greeted at the door. We had a chaotic bench complete with wrestling and a squealing Cooper. I was exhausted by the time sacrament meeting ended. 

We were gifted a tin of warm cookies from a friend, and I was so grateful for the afternoon snack!

Cooper and I spent a lot of time just snuggling on the couch due to his sore throat and ouchie teeth.

Lily joined in on the fun at some point!

When Daddy got home from Bishopric meetings, he took his turn snuggling our rosy cheeked, cranky boy for a while so that I could make dinner.