I have a lot on my mind. I am way behind on my posting here, but like any journal I've ever kept it seems like the best place to start is where you are at, and then back track if needs be. Christmas was very eventful, and I will give it its own post as soon as James is around and I can use his computer, because all of my Christmas pictures are on there. For now I will share a few of my thoughts here.
We have been back from vacation a week and two days. It feels like a month. We have been so busy. James with his continually growing responsibilities and mine with the children and leading the music in primary. I love love my calling. It probably could be less work than I make it, but I really enjoy thinking about it on a daily basis and adding what I can to it as much as possible. I have big shoes to fill. My mother was the song leader the entire time I was in primary. I don't know how she got away with that. It seems like you are only allowed to hold a calling for a year these days and then they make you move. For me, I would hope to stay in this calling forever. I love it. I feel needed. And I feel like I have an outlet for the creative side of me.
James not only has his two jobs, but also works as the executive secretary and is receiving a lot of inquiries to do some private therapy. He hasn't yet taken anybody on, but will probably start soon. He still manages to find time to spend at home and help at home as much as possible. The kids love him, and loved having him home for two weeks over the break. They got so used to them that if I ever got the tinniest bit frustrated with them, Lucy's first response was, "when is dad coming home?" She also let me know one day that she loved dad and not me and that Molly loved me. I know she didn't know what she was saying, but it hurt and tears were shed on my part. I know she loves me, because she has since told me that she does and we have gotten back into the swing of things. She doesn't ask for dad all the time any more.
Lucy has become quite the 3 almost 4 year old. She has become a little bit sassier. She will often tell me, "No!" when I ask her to do something, or ignore me completely. But her nature is still sweet. She gives so much to her two younger siblings and puts up with so much of what Molly dishes out everyday. Although she is learning to stand her ground a little more, which means more tears and screams from Molly for all of us to hear. Lucy has also developed quite the sense of humor. She is getting humor so much more on so many different levels. It means that she is a lot more silly, but when she watches movies or shows that she has seen a zillion times, she finally catches on to the humor of it, and will laugh out loud or get really excited. It cracks me up every time.
Molly is still Molly. I have been trying to grow her hair out, mostly because James and I are just curious to know what she would look like with long hair, but she refused to let me put anything in it. I have tried everything, bribes, hairspray, distraction, .... she is so stubborn about it, I couldn't put up with it any longer. So I cut it again. She will sit without moving the entire time I am cutting it, but will she let me put a rubberband in her hair even if it takes me two seconds... NOPE. Its amazing. I am starting to wonder if she will ever let me do anything with her hair. At least she pulls off the short hair really well or we would be in trouble.
Molly's vocabulary increases at amazing rates everyday. I am always so surprised at how well she is able to express herself. She also has mad fine motor skills. To date, it looks as though she is going to be a lefty. I'm not sure how I feel about that, except you should see her hold a crayon and color. We are still working with Lucy to hold a crayon the correct way, but Molly has had it down since the beginning. (My husband is an OT.... we get excited about these things..)
I'm not even sure where to begin with Louis. He will turn 7 months on Friday, and he can crawl, roll, pull to stand, lean back to sitting position, and basically get wherever he wants. It is RIDICULOUS!!!! He is already into everything. He is CRAZY! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHERE HE COMES FROM! BABIES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO DO THESE THINGS! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is how I feel today. I am not sure that he is going to slow down, so that is probably how I am going to feel for awhile. UGH!!! I love him to death and for the most part, he is a great sleeper, so I can't complain to much, but boy is he going to keep me on my toes.
Louis adores his sisters. They can make him laugh, better and faster than anyone. The feelings are mutual. It is so funny to watch them interact. I haven't left the house much since we got back, mostly because I am so entertained by all of them.
Lucy started Sunbeams two Sundays ago, and LOVES it! I am often very distracted with her there. It is just so dang cute to see her participate in sharing time or singing time like a big kid. She was chosen this last Sunday to report about a scripture her group read. Her teacher helped her, but she spoke out so confidently and clearly with out hesitation. Our primary is combined (JR and SR) so there are a lot of kids in the room, but she didn't think twice. I was very proud of her. I also get to visit the Nursery's for singing time. I LOVE that part of my calling as well. Molly's nursery is quite large and mostly unruly but for some reason when I play the role "teacher" she listens and is the best one in the class. The Jr nursery only has two kids in it now. It is the one that will gain all the kids through out the year (including Louis next December-CRAZY!) I love them as well. They always make me happy.
We live in a fantastic ward. It is just as transient as our ward in Henderson, but we always kind of loved that. Because of the nature of our ward, we feel very needed here and feel as though in the end we were lead here by greater powers. I am not usually one to make really close friends, but there are plenty of sisters that I know I can and have called on for various favors, and that is so nice to have.
I have been doing a lot of instagramming lately. When I reach 60 posts, I can print them in a book for 6$ and have a pretty fun little history of the more daily part of our life. I try not to offend people with the constant posting, in fact I hope they just stop following me if they are offended, because I mostly do it for the personal record. I want my kids to remember the fun stuff we do. The good times. There are lots of fun moments. There are lots of bad and really hard moments in between as well. I believe there has to be both to really know the goodness of our Heavenly Father. So I am okay with the hard times. They make me stronger and my kids stronger. We learn daily, what works and what doesn't. They tolerate my impulsive moods so well. They hug me when I cry and they often just shut the door or walk away, when I yell at things that are really uncalled for and just out of frustration. I appreciate that because often I already feel terrible and find them and apologize with all my heart. They are so understanding. Especially Lucy. They have learned a lot about different feelings through watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. It is one of my favorite shows, because there is a little song with each episode, and my girls remember them all by heart and can easily refer to whatever one is needed at that time. I should write the people that make that show and let them know how much I appreciate it, they deserve to know how helpful it is. For the most part, this job is great. It is hard, but so rewarding. It is stressful, but brings me more joy than anything I have ever done. I want my children to know of my love for them, everyday. They may not recognize it now, but by recording some of the good times we have had, I hope they will know it someday. That love is so important for any child to succeed in life. I had great parents. I know they loved and love me now. It has given me every confidence I have needed to be a good parent myself.
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| Tonight we ate for OSSO at Pizza Pie Cafe |
I've never really loved the "world's" idea of Valentine's day. And other than a few gag Valentine's dinners that I've planned for James just to be funny I haven't done much for the holiday. But since I've had kids I've learned to love it. Mostly because it is a creative outlet for my brain to send out some fun creative valentines of my kids and let them pass them around to the people that they love most as well.
My kids are just getting old enough that traditions are becoming more important and so I have tried to emphasize a few simple ones as the year goes on. I purchased some tupperware heart containers from JoEllen, and I plan to put something homemade in them each year. Whether it be a card, a coupon or some sort of small craft. I have had an itch to pull out my sewing machine for a long time. My first project, Capes for the kids. Lucy and Molly have been putting blankets or towels around their shoulders pretending to be super heroes a lot lately. I decided this would be a fun and easy project to ease me into sewing again. I loved making these capes. I made a lot of mistakes but in the end they turned out fantastic! And the kids love them as well. Sewing these capes was a way that I told my kids, "I love them."
We also had a really good time preparing a Valentine's date for Jacobanana. It was their first Valentine's as a couple and so we thought we would plan something for them as well. Jacob is one of our dearest friends from back when we were dating and Anna... well she's a sister and we love her too. Bringing them together is the way that we showed both of them that we love them.
