Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Quilt

I learned to quilt as a kid when a sister from church had the grand idea that my mom would like a quilt for her birthday. We were staying with them for a week (or weekend, can't remember which), and we spent spare moments sewing hearts onto squares and piecing four-square patches.

When I was 16 I figured, Hey! I can sew a straight line, how hard could a quilt be? And I made a baby quilt for a dear leader. I remember sitting myself down in front of a single shelf at the library that had a ton of quilt books, and I started pulling books at random until I found a patchwork pattern that looked simple enough. That quilt took FOREVER and it was a steeeeeeeeeeep learning curve. My leader's mother kindly took the quilt and me in hand and taught me how to do simple repairs, and a faster, more efficient, way to do the finicky mitered corners that I'd spent hours trying to perfect.

I've gone on to make this quilt a few more times. I just finished the latest iteration, it took me a grand total of three hours to complete. I've got two more on the chopping block.

I was trying to remember just how many times I've made this quilt...


Ethan

Girl blanket for YW service project

Boy blanket for YW service project

Faith

David

Seth

Digory

Sean

Sky

Andrea

Evelyn (I think...)

Charlotte

Peter

Matthias

Henry

William

Calvin

Church project

Adeline

Griffin

Lauren

Baby May


I wish I had pictures of all of them. Try as I might I couldn't find all of them, a couple I didn't bother taking pictures anyway. I have no idea if any of these babies still have their quilts (aside from my own kids), or if they ever even used them (again, aside from my own kids). Either way, I always enjoy stitching a little love for these little guys.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Friends

 I have some amazing friends. I've been thinking a lot about friends lately, especially as I've watched my kids form friendships these last few years. 


David had a pretty good crew of kids he was friends with in elementary school, but middle school was cruel, and David asked to be home schooled. Those boys all still enjoy seeing one another, but time and circumstances are getting in the way. This means that David has been relying on his friendships with the boys from church. Fortunately, they are all the same type of nerdy gamers, and they all will get on and play games online, get onto their Discord calls and laugh and joke with each other. They have fun. I miss the days that we could do play dates.

Andrea has Ben. They've been best buds for so long. I am always so happy to see them playing together, they have the most imaginative adventures together. Andrea has struggled some with being friends with girls. She's found them to be a little mean and focused too much on phones. What's with that? What would she be like with a phone? I really don't know. I hope she'd be nice. Maybe it is a good thing none of my kids are on social media.

Peter spends a lot of time with Elizabeth these days. He can also make friends wherever he goes, and he enjoys playing with the kids from his den at cubs, or with his buddies from church. He likes to pull out the wolf ears and capes with his BFF Lucy, and they play all sorts of funny games. Again, like the big kids, he's got friends on Roblox.

I've had amazing friends throughout my life. But I have to say, there's something totally different about making friends as an adult. I've got this interesting dynamic I've got to work with where I'm not just making friends with other women, but its extra nice if our kids get along and our husbands can all hang out together. It was something I had never thought of as a kid. And I've been incredibly lucky in these friends we've made here in Michigan.



Melissa and I share a birthday, how crazy is that?? Our family busted out of our eight week quarantine shortly before my birthday this year, so we three had a lot of fun being incredibly goofy to celebrate. Brunch, and thrift store finds, then we played with my camera and got some very flattering photos.


I'm incredibly grateful for these amazing ladies. I'm so glad our kids all get along! I'm so grateful that our husbands have the same nerdy passions (Tyler and Jonathan even randomly have the same LOTR shirt).



I realized I'd never documented the birthday shenanigans. So now it is on the internet, it is never going away, and I'm glad I've got these fun memories documented always. :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

January is cold

We've spent a lot of time indoors this month. David was invited to go sledding with a friend last week. We were actually all invited to meet up, but with Elizabeth's legs... She wasn't even walking yet, and heaven forbid someone hit her. Nope. Hard pass from us. But David went, and he had fun.


Finally got the boys' shields and helmets up on their wall. It looks pretty neat in there now. It took forever for me to figure out how to get them up and arranged. I finally appealed to FB for guidance, and someone very involved in medieval reenactment told me how to get it done. Collective wisdom. Its a beautiful thing.



David also made a plague mask for Halloween. Would you believe it, he's worn it several times since. Just because. He needed it to go on his wall, too. It looks a little like the creepy muppets in Dark Crystal to me, but David loves it so... It stays.



 This cat is killing me. He's such a cuddly fluff-a-poof, but he causes a fuss almost every morning while I'm teaching. Its 5:00am, and he'll decide its time for aggressive cuddles, so he will sprint and launch himself into my face in the middle of my class. My students think it is hilarious I suddenly have a mouthful of cat tail. Good thing he's cute. And cuddly.


Elizabeth started walking. Its pretty stiff still, but she's gaining speed.

Jonathan is on orders. He was worried he was going to be moved to DC with the rest of his unit, but because he took COVID orders first they won't be moving him off them. That's nice. His were the last set of orders with the perks that make orders really nice. Everyone else won't get the same compensation he is getting.

David leaves next week for a ski trip with a friend. He went last year and had a blast, so it was really important to him that he go this year. I think we might try to do it as a family next year. Depends on Jonathan's schedule. We are already doing Disney this year, so that's a lot of $$ and planning.

I gave a talk at church this past Sunday. Its weird, about a month ago I had the thought that it had been a while. Like, a solid couple of years. And I was totally satisfied with this arrangement of flying under the radar. But my subconscious must have been warning me because I started having crazy dreams about giving a talk that always ended horribly. The last one was a dream that I'd forgotten I was going to speak, so I went up to the podium, started singing, then remembered we aren't allowed to sing in church. So I started humming and wandered over to the organ to play. It was awful. But I got a text during my third class that next morning asking me to speak. No WAY was I putting it off after that weirdo dream.

Anyway, for posterity, here's the talk:

As a young girl, I spent hours reading from a treasured copy of "The Book of Virtues". I've never been much of one for poetry, but I distinctly remember the day I first read a poem by Sam Walter Foss entitled "The House By the Side of the Road." The words echoed the sincerest desires of my young hear, and I've often fallen back on them throughout my life.

"There are hermit souls that live withdrawn

in the peace of their self-content;

There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,

In a fellowless firmament;

There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths

Where highways never ran;-

But let me live by the side of the road

And be a friend to man.


Let me live in a house by the side of the road,

Where the race of men go by -

The men who are good and the men who are bad,

As good and as bad as I.

I would not sit in the scorner's seat,

Or hurl the cynic's ban;-

Let me live in a house by the side of the road

And be a friend to man."


In the end, is that not what we have all covenanted to do? We demonstrated we were "desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people" and thus covenanted that we are "willing to bear one another's burdens, that they might be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort." And as we act on our covenants, in faith, our efforts are magnified and we are led as heavenly agents to render aid or service to others around us. This is the very definition of Ministering (seriously, that's what it says in the Webster's dictionary). The Church website states that "ministering is learning of and attending to others' needs. It is doing the Lord's work. When we minister, we are representing Jesus Christ and acting as His agents to watch over, life, and strengthen those around us."

So how do we go about ministering as the Savior would want us to? What would Jesus have me do?

1. Forgive yourself. Yep. Start with you. Look in the mirror, and be nice to yourself. Reaching out to people we barely know can be daunting for anyone. Don't be hard on yourself for your perceived shortcomings and mistakes and anxieties. In introducing the new ministering program, Jeffrey R Holland said, "We will continue to visit homes as possible, but local circumstances such as large numbers, long distances, personal safety, and other challenging conditions may preclude a visit to every home every month. As the First PResidency counseled years ago, do the best you can." This means in the ways taht are best for your circumstances and health. Know your limitations, establish healthy boundaries for yourself and your family. This does not mean that we do not step out of our comfort zone, or that every interaction will always be easy. But it does mean that we take ourselves and our health into account. This is not an excuse to do nothing. But forgive yourself if your best doesn't look like a perfect Pinterest board. M. Russel Ballard shared this story: "One of my children once said, 'Dad, I wonder if I will ever be able to make it.' I responded, 'All Heavenly Father asks of us is to do the very best we can each day.' Brothers and sisters, do the best you can do day after day, and before you know it, you will come to realize that your Heavenly Father knows you and that He loves you." Your best effort is all that is required.

2. As you forgive yourself and then try your best, my second recommendation is to remember your role. You are NOT the Savior. We have one, His name is Jesus Christ. Let Him do His job of saving people; your job is to love, serve, help, be kind and listen, comfort and mourn. Do not make another person's salvation your responsibility. Do your best to do as the spirit directs, and let HIm do the rest. The Church Handbook of Instruction states that our responsibility as ministers is to "represent" the Lord. We are to "watch over" Church members and "be with and strengthen them". We are to help them strengthen their faith in God and Christ, help them to prepare to make and keep sacred covenants, and discern needs and provide Christlike love and swervice; and most importantly, help them become spiritually and temporally self-reliant. The greatest work of our Savior and Heavenly Parents is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of mankind, that is something that is totally out of the realm of our abilities to accomplish. Our greatest work is to show ourselves and otehrs the way to Them in our every action.

3. Ask those you serve what they need. Too often we start trying to do things for the people we're asked to serve without even know what they want. Sister Jean B. Bingham said, “Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to 'count' as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have a profound effects on others – as well as on ourselves.” Get to know those are assigned to, become a friend by letting them know you care. I'm not knocking cookies, I always appreciate a Diet Dr Pepper visit myself, but don't make that your only interaction once a month. Christ didn't just heal and pray, sometimes his service was celebrating, too. He rejoiced when he saw the faith of the Nephites, he provided refreshment at a wedding. So go to their kids' recitals or football games. Congratulate them on their new job, recognize their triumphs at school. “Celebrate successes large or small. It could be getting through cancer or getting through a breakup, finding a new job or finding a lost shoe, surviving a month after the loss of a loved one or surviving a week without sugar. Call to congratulate, drop off a card, or go out for lunch. By sharing in our blessings together, living with gratitude, and celebrating the blessings and success of others, we 'have rejoicings in the joy of our brethren.'” (“Are You Missing This Vital Part of Ministering?” Ensign, October 2019). I have felt the love and friendship of my ministers as they have gone on a walk with me, sent their kids to watch Andrea dance, or stopped by with a random Dr Pepper on a random day. I have received ministering love when a family, who had no assignment, simply saw a mom tired and struggling with her little ones while their dad was away for an extended period of time, and they invited me and the kids to have dinner with them. I appreciate the little text, “Hey! How are you today?” or “Look at my happy plant!” Or even just a funny meme. Puzzle nights, sewing dates, a ride to an activity, an encouraging smile and a bright laugh. A friend ministered in the purest way when she cried tears of joy with me when Elizabeth said to her, “Look at my legs!” and took shaky steps around the room on her first day walking since early November. Small and simple.

M Russell Ballard taught: “Our ministering efforts will be more successful if we keep our ministering simple. The most joy comes from the simple things of life, so we need to be careful not to think that more needs to be added to any of the adjustments we have received to build faith and strong testimonies in the hearts of God’s children.”
The church website has other suggestions for that include doing family history and temple work, avoiding negative judgements and encouraging others, and creating a culture of inclusion at Church. I recently heard this, that we must be “...willing to stand in the other person's shoes for just a moment. Because here's the thing about life: there is no accounting for what fate will deal you. There are some days when we need a hand. There are other days when we're called on to lend one.

That is how we must be with one another.” (President Biden, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 2021). And I know that these are truly the simple things that help us grow to be a Zion people.

4.Let others help you help others. Just like you're not the Savior, you are also not the only person in your church. Know your personal limitations, and where appropriate enlist the aid of others to help. Richard C. Edgley taught:

“From bearing one another’s burdens as ward members, we have learned several lessons:

- The Lord’s organization is fully adequate to know and care for those with even the most dire emotional and spiritual needs.

- Adversity can bring us closer to God, with a renewed and enlightened appreciation for prayer and the Atonement, which covers pain and suffering in all their manifestations.
- Members who suffer tragedy firsthand often experience an increased capacity for love, compassion, and understanding. They become the first, last, and often the most effective responders in giving comfort and showing compassion to others.
- A ward, as well as a family, draws closer together as it endures togetherg —what happens to one happens to all.

And perhaps most important, we can each be more compassionate and caring because we have each had our own personal trials and experiences to draw from. We can endure together.”

When my sorrows or struggles were more than a ministering sister or brother could tackle, I can think of the many experts that have been sent in to render aid. There's always someone that knows how to help with a resume, or get your son's tie fixed before he passes the sacrament. For me there were sisters who understood the heartache of empty arms when a baby gains her wings before you can hold her; brothers and sisters that are experts in their field and can provide calming assurances that my very sick son will be okay and can interpret the medical jargon I do not understand. When personal relationships and trials were almost too overwhelming, there was a sister that perfectly comprehended the hurt and could help identify healthy coping mechanisms and introduced me to invaluable resources. There is SOMEONE in this congregation that understands what you are

experiencing, or what the families you minister to are experiencing, and can offer wisdom and support in ways that others may not. Do not be afraid to seek out this help in behalf of those you minister to, where appropriate and necessary. Bishops, Relief Society presidents, and Elders quorum presidents are a great place to start if you don't know where to go.

5.  Finally, how do we minister as the Savior would have us minister? Just be you. You were given this assignment because of the person you are, not because of the person you aren't. Gary E. Stevenson said, “ Heavenly Father can take our simple, daily efforts and turn them into something miraculous.” Maybe you do not feel you are enough. Maybe you feel these small acts are inadequate or your simple efforts are insufficient; I promise you, they are enough. YOU are enough. Jeffrey R Holland - “In spite of what we all feel are our limitations and inadequaciesg —and we all have challengesg —nevertheless, may we labor side by side with the Lord of the vineyard, giving the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His staggering task of answering prayers, providing comfort, drying tears, and strengthening feeble knees.”

David L Beck taught, “Minister every day. Opportunities are all around you. Look for them. Ask the Lord to help you recognize them. You will find that most consist of small, sincere acts that help others become followers of Jesus Christ."

In my life, I have been greatly touched by the simple acts of faithful ministers. I have been incredibly blessed by what might have been a mundane thing for them! Blessings for my children while their dad was away, or blessings for me as I struggled to cope. One sister invited me to sit on her couch while I was miserably sick with morning sickness, she was happy to let our kids play and let me rest. I've had more than one person just KNOW I needed a Dr Pepper, and one magically appeared at my door (thank you!). I once accepted a request to participate in a special RS project, then three days before our first rehearsal, I miscarried. A dear sister saw me in the hall and just knew something was wrong, and when I tearfully explained what was happening in my life at that moment she told me to go home and she'd handle any disappointment from the other participants. She had my back! This same sister pulled over on a crazy day last May to help Jonathan get me to the car when I'd fallen down my stairs and was out of my mind with pain over a severely sprained foot. She'd seen us struggling to get to the car, and she didn't hesitate. In that moment I had NO idea who she was, just that an angel helped a sailor into a car – and she totally didn't judge.

A ministering sister turned precious friend has made more hospital trips for me, to collect a kid (I could have SWORN I was going home, no way was I having a baby that day), or bring me an overnight bag when a little one was suddenly admitted for a week and I had nothing with me. Rides to airports, rides FROM airports, popcorn or cookies or wrapping paper or a plant or a pretty wreath for my door at Christmas... “What day should I bring you dinner?” or “Hey! I've got an extra Dr Pepper, you want it?” or “Let's go catch a movie.” or “Can we come decorate your Christmas tree?” In a moment when I'd been made to feel absolutely worthless, a dear sister held my shaking hands through a vulnerable moment, gave me the strength to complete my task, commended my endurance when I felt I was so weak and things were hopeless. She gave me love when I felt unloveable. And then she took a deep breath with me and said, “Lets go get a Dr Pepper!” And the best tortellini Romano ever! Her small acts may have seemed insignificant to her, but they were miracles to me, and a healing balm to my broken heart.

So how do we minister as the Savior would have us minister?

Let me live in a house by the side of the road, 

Where the race of men go by -

They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, 

Wise, foolish – so am I.

Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,

Or hurl the cynic's ban?

Let me live in my house by the side of the road

And be a friend to man. 


Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Before



This was from our last hike before Elizabeth's major hip surgery this fall. She is a mover, she never stops. But she stopped, hopped up on the bench, and said "Take a picture, Mom!" So I did. I'm counting down, 8 days until the cast comes off.

Things that need doing this week:

- Planners need updating
- Appointments need making
- Andrea has an orthodontist appointment
- David and I have Zoom classes tonight, and Andrea and Peter have Zoom scouts
- I need to research more Procreate App classes
- Somehow I need to get the oil changed on the car

Sunday, June 9, 2019

I'm cracking

So I feel like I'm really beginning to lose it.

I applied for a job. It had several steps to actually getting hired and signing a contract, and I thought I'd have time to do it all at my leisure. Turns out I had six days, start to finish, to get the contract documents in and signed. Woof.

1. Passed my demo interview, no problems.
2. Passed the mock class first try (apparently that's a big deal).
3. Got most of the documents in.
4. Passed the ESL certification course today (good grief it was tough).
5. I'm recording a profile video tomorrow morning.
6. I'm taking a professional-looking photo tomorrow morning, too.
7. Upload 5 and 6, sign the contract, and I'll open my schedule for teaching.

I've been super stressed about that certification stuff, and the last minute deadlines I didn't know about until it was too late. I don't do well with last minute deadlines. I like to know my deadlines well in advance so I can pace myself and not feel rushed, confident the work I'm turning in is my best. I know some people "thrive" in that system of last-minute proficiency, but that isn't me. Planners and pacing are the only ways to live. Procrastination induces panic and hysteria. I keep stopping to remind myself that it is really not that bad, the world isn't ending just because the deadline is tomorrow and I had very little notice. I am probably overthinking a lot. But reminding myself of that doesn't take away that nervous, irrational frenzy that plagues my mind and makes mountains of mess out of lego molehills. My poor kids. I've been less of a mom the last few days.

David's surgery went super smoothly. He really wanted to get home, so he forced himself to quickly eat and drink right after surgery. The first time he stood up he realized how drugged he was and he nearly toppled over. They still sent him home, though. He was so woozy while wheeled him to the car. And then as soon as the car got moving he was done. I'm grateful they supplied us with a barf bag, and we stopped for ginger ale on the way home. His second attempt at holding down liquids and solids was successful and he was fine by the end of the day.

Elizabeth has been a beast. I think she's given up napping, but its not pretty. If she takes a nap she is up until 10:00 at night. Or later! There were two nights where she just screamed for so long that I pulled her out and she watched me fold and listen to work trainings on Youtube until midnight. The days she doesn't nap she goes to bed on time, but life is miserable for all of us starting around 4:00 until 7:00 when she finally goes to bed for the night. Let us add to that mess! The other day she climbed out of her crib, lost her balance on the top of it, and landed, HARD, on the floor. That is 1) very dangerous, and 2) really risky for her hips. We CANNOT risk something happening to those hips!!!! So. We converted her crib to a toddler bed. She woke me up at 3:00a.m. last night by shoving the computer keyboard and mouse in my face and asking to watch Coco. That was a hard pass from me. Fortunately cuddling for a minute then placing her back in her bed was enough to get her back to sleep.

Andrea has a big project due in school tomorrow. I think it is rather cruel to assign a massive project like this for the very last days of school, but whatever. The entire 3rd grade is making a "mini society", and they all had to come up with businesses and things to sell. Did she choose the simple, already-got-all-the-supplies-we-need, bath bombs and sugar scrubs? Nope. She wanted to go all out and make pet rocks for her business. 😑 Fortunately I left a lot of it up to her, I only procured the rocks. She did all the other work, and we did have all the supplies she needed (apart from those rocks). I can't wait to see how it all comes together at the school tomorrow, but I do kinda wish she'd just done the bath bombs. She's goofy. But hey, now she's got a few business ideas she can build off of in the future. Silver lining, right?
Andrea performed at the Motor City Irish Festival on Saturday. She's so good at counting, and so confident on when to start. Both songs she counted everyone in, though the first time the little girl leading them on wouldn't listen to her and waited for the teacher to get back to count them on. It irked Andrea, which made me laugh. But she had fun, and there were a lot of fun acts and things to do and shops to see. It was like going to the Michigan Irish Festival in Muskegon, only on a much smaller scale. Muskegon is SO big, and there's SO much to see. This was much more manageable for a mom hauling four kids around by herself. I was told I need to go to the Dublin, Ohio Irish festival; apparently that one takes two solid days to see everything. Maybe we'll do that one next year when J can help with the kids.

Peter, my happy-go-lucky kid, has had a rough go of it lately. We're trying to get him to stop wetting the bed at night, and I'm trying to help him be more independent in taking care of his room. Since totally reorganizing the boys' room it has been so much easier for him to keep things clean, but it is still an incredible effort for him. And then I've really not been paying attention to him as I should have. I've been so wrapped up in getting things together for the interviews and my class, and I've been so short and impatient with him. Poor guy, he really is just so tenderhearted, and I have had no patience for it this week. I need to do something special, just me and him this week. In Primary today the kids were reviewing their song for Father's Day (I play piano for Primary) and they played a game where one person got to choose if boys or girls sang. The kid leading was supposed to flip the card back and forth so that each group had a turn to sing, but the little girl was sneaky and left it on the boys the entire time. There was ONE sweet little voice that sang the entire song, no hesitation with any of the words, perfectly on pitch, and I was really impressed with that little voice. I was so shocked to learn that the little voice belonged to Peter!!! How did I not know that he sang so well? How have I missed this talent? I will definitely take him out on a Mommy/Son outing this week, he deserves one!

This week is just one long week of prep and packing. The goal is to be totally packed Saturday so that I have two days to get last minute things taken care of before we leave for Utah. David has a campout he's going on this weekend, too. He's been looking forward to this one for months, so even if the timing isn't great I'm glad he's going. And maybe I'll start teaching this week! Who knows? I've read that it can take weeks before booking your first class. But then I also read that no one passes their mock classes the first try, and I did that. Who knows? I'm just going to do the best that I can. And maybe, just maybe, I can keep my sanity at the same time.


Tuesday, June 4, 2019

An eve

It is always a last-minute call. I don't envy the job of the surgery schedulers, they have a lot they are juggling. Operating rooms, doctors, surgeons, nurses... that's just one side. Then there's figuring out who takes the priority, which family has the greater need, how old are all of the kids going under... It is a lot. So I totally get why we don't get the official schedule until the last second. I have done this enough now that I am used to the call at the end of the day.

But this time is different. The last several times I've taken a child to the OR I have packed bags with blankets, several days of clothes, a bathroom bag (make sure there's lotion and chapstick in that bathroom bag, hospitals are very dry places), a book for the waiting (if you forget one I bet that the activity room/child life room has random teen romances you can pick up, I've done that a couple of times), pocket change for vending machines, and socks. Lots of socks. (You could always pack slippers, if that's your thing, but I've found them to be cumbersome because jumping in and out of slippers is much harder at 2:00a.m. when an alarm is going off somewhere in the Devil's Snare of wires entangling your thrashing, cranky, semi-conscious child.)

Our typical surgical mornings usually start at 4:00 a.m. to accommodate travel, traffic, and check-in time. We juggle the one car, so we get the other kids to sitters (bless them!) in these wee hours, after getting backpacks and lunches and clothes and shoes and teeth brushed and etc., ... And we do it all when we are barely functioning and the sun is still asleep.

This time, I'm taking David. We don't leave until after I've dropped the kids off at school and left Elizabeth with a sitter. It is an easier morning. And there's no bags. I'm taking my laptop so I can watch a few training videos, but there's no suitcase to haul in with us. It is nice. The challenge in this surgery will be that he can't eat breakfast (have you ever denied a pre-teen boy his breakfast? That's rough 😜).

David was nervous. He asked for a blessing, so I called our ministering brothers to come and give him a priesthood blessing. I'm grateful for good men, men that can provide extra peace and comfort to my kids and I when we need it. These are men that David has admired for a long time. And they are a blessing.

At the end of the day all will be well, and hopefully David's hearing is restored.


Friday, May 31, 2019

Time flies


Mother's Day Spa with Kinder



I was late. I was so wrapped up in helping get David ready for his bake sale that I didn't keep track of the time. Poor Peter. He was really sad when I finally got to the spa. I was only 10 minutes late, but it was enough. But he forgave me after a bit and we had fun. The nail polish finally all chipped off last week.





David did really well selling his baked goods. He was such an enthusiastic entrepreneur that the director of the fair took his picture and used it as a highlight photo. Go, David! The other kids turned into selling popsicles. I didn't look at the weather forecast closely enough and the littles froze. This has been a really unusual May. Last year it was unusually hot. This year it has been unusually cold. I had to walk down the road and get socks and leggings to give them extra layers.




I had a good Mother's Day. The kids were so cute and I got lots of adorable cards, a gift card, and a fun shirt. It was a great day!

Birthday shenanigans were had this month. Andrea turned 9, David turned 12. I don't know how that happened, it just happened so fast! How do 12 years go so quickly? No clue.

There's been lots of doctor appointments, and dentist and orthodontist appointments. We've had a few really hard moments. We are making it, there's just a lot happening all at once. I am so proud of how the kids and I have soldiered on. The kids, especially, have been so incredibly great! They've stepped up and helped out when they've seen a need. There were minimal tears when I made the boys totally upend and reorganize their room (girls are next).

This week has been really calm. We haven't had nearly as much scheduled this week as we have the rest of the month. It was a reprieve, we dive back in next week with four doctor appointments, one surgery, and two Saturday activities. Typing that out I think I'm going to cut out one of the Saturday activities, lets just do one. Hahaha!

We are counting down the days to our Utah trip! We found a fish sitter, and a cat sitter. I'm working on a ride to get us to the airport and back.

More pictures of the kids: