Mother Gifts

 I remember when I was growing up when I'd ask my mom what she'd like for her birthday or Mother's Day she'd often say, I don't need you to buy anything, I just want a clean house.  And back then I thought I'd much rather just spend my $ on something or write a note then clean house all day.  But now that I'm a mom, I feel just like her.  One of the best gifts I got from my family on Mother's Day was a break from my "motherly duties" like making meals and cleaning up.  It was nice to enjoy a nice nap, a little reminiscing and relaxation, because my awesome husband rallied the kids to make the meals and clean up too.  I snapped a few shots with the girls before we headed to church on Mother's Day.

Family Togetherness

 I caught this picture of all of the kids huddled around Jared laughing at his awful "selfie" picture that makes him look huger than life because he was drooping his head down. 

This has been a particularly busy week with school events, Scout/YW camp meetings, drama with my Relief Society calling, piano recital and festival prep.  I love the unplanned moments like this and sometimes yearn for a little more quiet sanity in life. 

Reminiscing

 Last weekend I had a "heavenly" early Mother's Day Retreat.  I went to visit my parents while Jared stayed home and watched all of our kids.  It was so nice to go shopping and out to lunch with my mom and do a little family history too.  I enjoyed scanning in a bunch of photos from my childhood and reminiscing.

 

Shortly after this family picture was taken, I was diagnosed with scalded staph skin syndrome.  It started with a small red sore above my lip, but later I looked like I had been submersed in a pot of boiling water as my skin was bright red, painful and peeling.  I had to be hospitalized for a few days and my mom related how hard it was to go home at night and leave me at the hospital.

 I imagine I was around this age when my dad was rocking me to sleep  late one night when I was being stubborn about going to bed.  He was frustrated, but I looked up and sweetly said, "I look like baby Jesus."

 I was probably my mom's most difficult toddler.  I think I was about this age when I flushed her contacts down the sink.  And although I think I look adorable, I was not being too cooperative for family pictures on this day as you can see in my mom's expression.

 

On this family vacation I nearly gave my parents a heart attack when I decided to climb up to the top of the fence overlooking the Royal Gorge.

The Not so Perfect Family Picture :)

 

  
I loved my Elementary School years.  I love learning and had a competitive mindset in school from the start.  Back then, we received a letter grade for our work and for our effort.  I remember the bitterness I felt in first grade when I got the lowest grade on my report card ever.  My teacher gave me a "C" in effort for spelling because I didn't bring back my parent's signature saying I had practiced the words.  Ironically, I got an "A" for my spelling work, because I didn't need to practice spelling the words that I already knew!

I took ballet lessons for a few years and my girls still enjoy using some of my costumes for dress-up.  But I especially loved piano lessons, which I started when I older sister was sick of practicing, so went in her place.  I am so grateful that my mom sacrificed to drive me across town each week even though she detests driving, so that I could have this opportunity.

 This picture taken in our backyard when I was about 13 shows my dad on steroids... literally.  When he was diagnosed with polymyositis, a rare muscle disease, he had to take prednisone to build up his muscles which his immune system was eating away.  A few nicknames he had during this time were the "stay-puffed marshmallow man" or the "pillsbury dough boy gone bad."   It was a difficult time for our family, but I am so grateful for the lessons that we learned through the trials of financial struggles.





 

When I look through old pictures, it reminds me of how quickly this life passes by.  I see the frustration, the fatigue and the satisfaction and happiness in my mother's eyes and think of how grateful I am for her and for my opportunity to be a mother too.  Before I am ready, my  family pictures will look like this and I won't have a little one to rock to sleep in my arms anymore, so I am grateful for this phase even though it includes cleaning up after potty accidents, large piles of laundry and late night school projects, because I'll never get to have it again.

One thing I LOVE about being a mom

I love to learn.  But even more, I love to teach my children.  I have never paid for any of them to go to preschool, because I enjoy the process of teaching them myself more.  Sometimes I get carried away and the house is a mess and the dinner doesn't get made, but I know that when I'm old I'll never say, "I wish I had just done more housework."
Alyssa especially loves to learn about piano (lucky for me) and lately has been pretty consistent about asking me to teach her.  She knows the letter names on the keys and basic rhythms and performed "Charlie Chipmunk" and Alphabet Boogie at her first group lesson this week.

Soap Bubble Beard

 Alyssa was so delighted to show off her soap bubble beard to me.  She said "Now I look like Santa."  The other day I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up and I was surprised when she said, "I want to be one of Santa's helpers."

Getaway

 While Jared's mom was up visiting, she offered to watch the kids so we could have an early anniversary getaway in her RV.  We headed to Downata Hot Springs and enjoyed the solitude.  It always amazes me how warm the pool feels after venturing out in the cold rainy weather.  But one of my favorite parts was just enjoying a peaceful evening talking with my best friend without interruptions, reading, and writing in my journal.  I took these not so flattering morning pictures, because I tend to only blog about what I have pictures for so my husband who is the best part of my life rarely gets mentioned here :)  I am so grateful to have him in my life!

Triathalon

 After about 6 months of training, Jared participated in his first race last weekend.  He did a mini-tri at ISU.  His mom came up to watch.

14 laps (28 lengths) across the pool

 I consider that pretty amazing, because I don't think I could even swim one length!

 Our good friends Nancy and John surprised us by traveling to come watch as well.  We enjoyed visiting with everyone that night when it was all over.  Nancy is a personal trainer/health coach and has been the inspiration behind a lot of our recent exercise and eating habit improvements.

So cold and rainy

 BYU Biker.  After a lot of searching on KSL Jared finally found the perfect bike for his race and drove all the way down and back to Utah to buy it one evening.  To start out the race he had to run to the bike area, grab his sweet wheels and walk it to the street where he hopped on and proceeded to race down the hill passing multiple bikers.  He was so glad that they let him bike even though it was rainy, and on the drive to the event he made a comment about how his less cautious personality might be advantageous....but I was thinking YIKES!  Fortunately he didn't have any accidents.

Finished!

Jared is already itching to do another race, but for now I'm happy that he's been "training" in the morning with Jacob and Daniel instead.  They bike as he runs and then hop off to join him for a few laps, so he can still get an intense workout and Jacob can work towards earning his personal fitness merit badge.