Mother's Day and Sweet Sixteen (not necessarily related!)

 

Maddie, cute thing, actually made it to 16, which seems impossible, given my barely over 16 age.  She was as laid-back about that as she is about most things, so we had Cookie Crisp (breakfast), Chicken a la King and eclair cake, and I took her out to Wendy's for lunch, and that's how exciting her Mom is.  Under the principle of Compensatory Blessings though, she has AWESOME friends that decorated her room (after cleaning it!!) and brought her treats and a little close-friends party (which is what she likes best) AND--she got asked on her first date THAT WEEKEND, so I was really grateful that my slacker ways of not throwing a big coming-out or shebang were made up for so well. :)--and as always, we are ALL glad Maddie is SOOOO easy to please!--she just asked for a hoodie and some shorts--and I threw in some chapstick.  Her buddies got her lemonade, a Captn America Frisbee, and some more treats :).

 

Mother's Day was great-a box of chocolates from Brian via the firm, and special treatment, recited poetry, a tent full of presents, FABULOUS breakfast and love from children, AND we got to have Dad & Kathy w/ us for dinner, so it felt much more festive :). I LOVE being a Mom, and LOVE that I have a Mom who understands me SO easily and well, and love the HUGE influence mothers and grandmothers have been in my life.

Lucy-isms

There is a reason Four Year-Olds are my Favorite---they are just old enough to express themselves hilariously, but too young to know inhibitions.  Here are some of Lucy's latest examples:

-(Talking to Maddie)Lucy:  I have 2 classes on Sunday

Maddie:  I do too

Lucy: What!?!--We must be sisters!!

(after finding lost for 2 weeks in her closet favorite pink polka dot shoes)

Mom, my shoes were just playing hide and seek, (lifts one foot) this one was hiding, (switches, and lifts other foot) and this one was counting

Grandpa to Lucy while sucking thumb: Lucy, is your thumb chocolate or vanilla?

Lucy:  Strawberry--it's pink

after hiking, 

Mom: Lucy, where did your water bottle go? you shouldn't drop it while you're hiking

Lucy:  I don't know? I didn't drop it! It just BLEW out of my hands.  First I was holding it, and then it was not in my hands, and I looked up in the sky and there it was flying away (Emily found it on the trail)

after same hike:

Mom, next time we go hiking, let's find a place with LOTS of butterflies that can be my friend and land on my finger.

Unmissables

Sometimes, I forget that I have the life I have for SO LONG dreamed about!!! Last time I posted pictures of the kiddos, Cousin Emily commented on how much it reminded her of the drawings I used to do of "future children."

 

Just because I didn't have the imagination back then to include w/ my dreams the struggles that so often accompany them, I think I too often miss out on really enjoying what's in front of me.  But as they said on "Call the Midwife" tonight, "WHAT IS JOY IF IT'S NOT RECORDED?" Here is a taste of what should have me pinching myself that I get to do this!

This is an older shot, and not an exact replica of the moment, but I do NOT want to forget that for a while, every day after Anne left for school, I got to take my newborn (younger than this picture) snuggled to one side of me w/ Lucy on the other, cozying up for a nap, many times during VERY cozy storms--rain and/or snow, and life for moments, felt blissfully perfect.  It was SO good! (We still have naps, but Jane does better in her crib, so I just close my eyes and remember).  And while we're on cuddling, who can resist a teenage boy getting soft over his little sister? Brent often asks me for Jane after school--baby therapy is great for Jr. High anxiety :), and Jane loves her big brother.

 Okay, so babies spark gratitude, but these girls LOOOOOOOOVE their baby sister, and though she often goes missing when I'm not watching, and is sometimes loved a little too excitedly, we seriously have days full of moments like this one where Anne and Lucy tuck the baby into some makeshift bed and read her stories, sing her songs, or dance for her.  I also love how Lucy never seems bothered by her crying.  If she's holding Jane, and I go to take her while she's crying, Lucy does not understand why her turn is so short, and if I'm not fast enough, she will just talk sweetly to her and sing her quiet songs to calm her down--can that be real?!

This was Anne's latest recital--it's been 2 years she's done Suzuki now, and as she's finishing Book 1 (!!!), I MARVEL at having a child be able to do something I canNOT at all! I REALLY love (most days) practicing with her and listening to her play.

It is also super-amazing to me to have so many girls in our house--this isn't even all of them!--just a cute moment on the couch--though I kind of have to re-think "Father-Son Outings" w/ 6 of us left home instead of 2, it is really a blast having so many to chat away with, share outfit ideas with, watch "Call the Midwife" or "Downton Abbey" with, or share book ideas with, among many more things.  As Lucy said the other day to me, "You're my sister!"  which in a lot of ways is true, and PROOF that things do all work out eventually (5 brothers, now not only many sisters in-law, but 5 daughters!).

Having children also means an excuse to walk around schools w/o a pass, and that still feels almost rebellious to me, but here was our Moustache Teacher Appreciation Door this year (I've done at least one for the past 3 years)--thanks to Emily's great help, we even got pictures of all of the kids w/ a mustache to put on the door!

 

 This is Spencer at the 4th Grade "Wax Museum" playing Philo T. Farnsworth, which he sees as exceptionally cool since he's a relative AND a scientist.  Watching him eat that up is like watching Emily fill out her 12 Generation sheet, or Maddie spend time on Family Search, and it feels like opening up doors to leagues of angels watching over us.

And last, but not least, there's Emily at school AND doing something I can't--being in the school musical, and doing a fantastic job!! Sure beats my joining the high school drama club long enough to pay $10 dues, and never show up again out of sheer cowardice! They did the Emperor's New Clothes, and we all sing along to the music now--she was terrific.  There's lots more that I just don't take pictures of, like getting to read Narnia every night w/ Spencer, and all of the music--piano, singing, clarinet that's always in the house, having everyone say nice things about each other on birthdays, tons of homemade cards and gifts, and hugs and treats--there IS so much good, that without some struggles, I'd be worried about my life being TOO dreamlike!
To boot, I successfully took (and HUNG) pictures of the children so that the braces placement is more uptodate, and I could feel good about our modest camera/abilities!

(I just used the ones we had done of Jane, but here are some of her anyway)

Easter

After Dad's funeral, I kept thinking, "I'm glad this is all happening in the fall, so that we can have hopeful Spring to look forward to." Easter and this soul-filling weather has been very restorative, even if life often remains HARD.

It was hard learning Brian did not get the last prosecution opening (presumably his best chance, since it is local where he already has good connections), but it has been good to shift our gears into hope for what we can do where we are.  Brian's been SO great to buckle down at the firm, branch out into Elder Law that we all feel quite hopeful about the more we learn, especially with Tyler (other partner) having a brother who manages many local nursing homes.  It's a little hard having no immediate financial solutions, but it's good to find great deals on Easter clothes, and still be able to fit it into the budget :). Elder Bednar's last Conference talk about looking with Spiritual Eyes for blessings, and Pres. Uchtdorf's most recent Conference Talk on being Grateful in ALL circumstances have been almost specifically-with my name on it-helpful.  These kids of ours, though we stress over them, (and refuse to teach them to drive), are a HUGE blessing, and sweet little Jane just keeps smiling through it all, as though the whole world is bursting with joy we just can't see as well as she can. We love their good hearts and are grateful, that at least in this sometimes difficult family stage, they sincerely want to do what's right.

Grandma Stewart moved down to Utah!!, so after our City Egghunt, we drove down to visit her and have another (all-you-can-eat Palmer Chocolate!) Egg hunt with the residents.  We came home, colored eggs, and Brian got ready for the choir's Easter Sunday number.  We sang "Gethsemane" which is a kind of heart-rending tune, one which I would normally not choose over a more "Alleluia" type song for Easter, but which I LOVED this year, realizing how personally the Savior does feel our pains and sorrows, so that He can bring relief.  We enjoyed having the Elders over for a ham dinner (one from GA!), making it feel more like a real holiday :).  AND, since we have 11:00 church for now, I made the kids smile for me for annual group shots :)