Firestation

Here's a little catch-up blogging. It's been about 3 weeks ago that our ward playgroup gathered at the firestation for a little tour. We live right across the street from a firestation and so we hear the sirens loud and clear...day and night....rain or shine...in sickness or in health (ha ha - can you tell that it's not my favorite thing about our apartment). Because of this....Lizzy and Andrew have both become pretty interested in firetrucks and have asked several times when we can go see them.

This rescue squad was so nice and really even seemed to enjoy giving the tour. We saw the training rooms, kitchen, sleeping quarters and the POLE. The pole was the best since they got one of the firemen to slide down it and impress all the kids with this man who appeared out of the ceiling. The most exciting part however was, of course, the fire trucks. These pictures aren't the best, but with 15 or so kids...what'd you expect??

Andrew trying out the seats inside the truck.

Peering out the back of the ambulance.

Lizzy got brave enough to give the fireman a hug.

I love this cute picture of Pavlina. She's really lovin' it.

Lookin' on the Bright Side

I know I just posted about Andrew but he is being so funny lately. Today he spilled a big full cup of water across the table at lunchtime. It created a big puddle on the table and the floor. Instead of an "uh-oh" or something like that he just splashed around for a minute in the water and then triumphantly held up his hands saying, "Look...hands all clean!!!"

Another funny thing is that he was getting frustrated trying to put the pieces in this alphabet puzzle. He said, "wone fit" I said, "It fits...you just have to wiggle it around a little". So he began wiggling "it" around. Not the puzzle piece, but his cute little bottom. It didn't help get the puzzle piece in but it sure was funny and so cute. What a character.

How Old Are You?

Lately, I love asking Andrew this question. It takes at least a full minute of thoughtful action to get an answer. He can easily tell me, but he likes to show me.

Okay I'm going to do this.

Let's see... I'll need to use my hands.

Gotta tie down those other pesky fingers.

At last!!! I'm Two!!!

I did it!!!

When You're the Best of Friends

I just couldn't resist putting up some of these adorable pictures that Kaelene took of our kids together.

Mother Dear, I Love You So

I've noticed that many LDS mothers don't really like mother's day. They don't like being the center of attention and such....but I guess I don't have much humility... and I love a day of pampering and attention from my sweet family. Aaron and the kids were locked into the bedroom last night working on a "project". Today I found that they'd colored a paper doll and each piece of clothing had a note on the back with someone's gift to me. The central gift was a new dress from Aaron. (Thank you Aaron) !! Lizzy's gift was that she intends to do the dishes for me (I guess we'll see how that goes) and Andrew says he'll give me hugs and kisses. Andrew made good on his promise during church today. He hugged and kissed me throughout sacrament meeting for no reason at all. It was a little distracting, but I couldn't bring myself to stop him since I love those little kisses so much. Lizzy also delighted me during church. She was able to go up and sing with the rest of the primary kids this year. She beamed the whole time and did such a great job. After singing she ran down and sat by me again and grinned up at me and asked, "Did that make you happy?" She told me Happy Mother's Day again and said that she was going to do the dishes and clean her room and several other kind but unlikely events. Then she snuggled up to me and said "Mom, I love you." Of course at this point I became irrational and started crying. Lizzy topped off her whole little episode by pulling up the end of her dress and said, "Here Mom..use this" (to wipe my tears). Overall... a wonderful day. Of course - these little twerps make this whole motherhood thing possible for me. Thank you for being wonderful, wonderful kids.

Mother's Day was a good opportunity for me to re-read Elder Ballards talk from this last conference. I know that this talk meant a lot to many women of the church. I am included in that group. Whether you are a member of the church or not...these words are reassuring and beautiful.

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. ...... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.

Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. Parents can offer a unique and wonderful kind of prayer because they are praying to the Eternal Parent of us all. There is great power in a prayer that essentially says, “We are steward-parents over Thy children, Father; please help us to raise them as Thou wouldst want them raised.”

That last paragraph reminds me of how grateful I am that I am not left to do this great work alone. I would fail so very terribly. I'm grateful to the Eternal Father for showing me how and helping me along the way. Lastly I want to thank the mothers in my life. Thank you Nancy and Mom for....all you are and all you have been to me and to Aaron. I'm impressed by the unique gifts and talents that you have brought to my life. And each of you have left that lasting impression that Elder Ballard expressed, "What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.." Happy Mother's Day.

I Don't Mean to Brag...But...

The Harrison kids spent this weekend at our house. On Friday....I got all 4 kids to take a nap at the SAME time!! I know. I am amazing.

Tired kiddos

Lizzy fell asleep here while waiting for me to get her a snack. When she woke up 1 1/2 hours later she was furious. She said "Mom...you forgot my snack." I laughed and told her she'd fallen asleep and she got even more mad. "I did not!" she said. Good thing I had a picture.
Yes this is the hallway outside of our bedroom. Heaven only knows how she fell asleep there.
This picture is (obviously) not a sleepy one, but we laughed pretty hard at Andrew getting stuck in his basketball hoop and dragging it all the way down the hall searching for some help.

The Power of Silence

Confession: I talk a lot. Several months ago I made a resolution to talk less... and listen more. I put signs up all over my house to help remind me of my new goal. I realized that I often instructed my kids so quickly that I didn't let them do anything good on their own. I needed to listen more to my husband, my friends and it was also an effort to make my prayers more meaningful....less talking and more listening. Apparently.... I was not making enough progress in this goal because on Friday I woke up to find that I had no voice. I had been getting an increasingly sore throat, but I didn't expect to lose it altogether. I could whisper and that was all. It was quite frustrating. Instead of yelling an instruction to the kids from the other room... I had to get up and walk to them and whisper in their ears. Even whispering was pretty exhausting and so I had to choose to say only the most important things. Now...3 days later... I almost completely have my voice back, but here are a few things I learned during my days of silence.

1) My kids will listen to a whisper more than to a loud voice.

2) When I was whispering...the kids also used softer voices.

3) The things I said while my kids were tantruming...were really not useful anyway.

4) My kids often would say please or thank-you all by themselves...without me reminding them.

5) Silence allows others to think.

6) I have really sweet kids.

7) My friends are the greatest. My friend Kaelene invited Lizzy over for a sleep-over to give me a break and then when I picked her up the next day...she had made dinner for us for the next evening. Kaelene--you are amazing.

Happy 2 weeks after Easter

Okay....I know I am a little behind things, but we did have a wonderful Easter. Aaron's parents were able to be here and on the Saturday before Easter....we did our annual Easter egg dye. This is always a little scary with young kids...but we managed with no major mishaps. And...if I do say so myself...we ended up with some pretty great looking eggs.

On Sunday, after church, Andrew and Lizzy found that someone had "snucked into our house" (Lizzy's words) and left us some fun surprises. My favorite was the cool animal hats that the Easter Bunny got at A.C. Moore for only a dollar. They wore them all day and ran around acting like their respective animals. I may have to follow the Easter Bunny's example and go and buy some more. They also had lots of fun with a few new books and of course CANDY!!!! We loved having Grandma and Grandpa with us and the yummy candy they provided as well.

Grandpa's Shadow

Aaron's parents were able to come and visit this last week. We had so much fun. We have talked and talked about how much fun we've had in the East, but it was awesome to be able to show them all that we've been talking about and let them experience some of the amazing history. I think I just really love sharing things that I love with other people. It gets me excited.
Grandpa found that he had a new sidekick. He couldn't sit down for more than 10 seconds before Andrew would be at his side. "Bampa" read the bedtime stories all week and Andrew had to tell he and "Bama" goodnight about 100 times each night before he'd go into bed. Thanks for making the trip. We loved it.