Walt is a Fast Runner

Walt on the treadmill.

 He runs at 5th speed and jumps to the side and back on again without stopping it. 

Max Gets Stitches

Apparently the kids thought it would be fun to tie Max up with jump ropes. While he was all tied up he tripped and fell and he hit his chin right on the tile and cut it wide open. Everyone was screaming. I came in and couldn't tell where the blood was coming from, I thought it was his mouth, I thought he had lost some teeth. After I realized it was his chin I was okay, but Danny was gone at church meetings and I couldn't get a hold of him. As soon as the blood stopped everyone calmed down.

The blood, which made all the kids scream and cry.

The wound.

Danny brought Max to the ER just after 8:00pm. I came at 11:00 with milkshakes, we got done just before 12:00. It was a long night.

Getting stitched up.

All done! He is such a big boy.

3 stitches.

Clark Laughing

Mom and Dad make Clark giggle.

Van makes Clark giggle.



Daisy Playing

Daisy thought of this "great" idea. She put a doll or stuffed animal on every step.

Max

Last weekend the boys went to Father's and Son's while the girls stayed home and had a "Girl's Night"

There are no pictures from that weekend except for this.

A great big scratch from a dead tree.

A cute picture of Max and Clark.

Grandma Mike

Clark wasn't sure of Grandma Mike. Grandma kept saying, "He knows I'm strange."

Grandma thought Daisy was so cute! All the kids enjoyed grandma's visit.

Motherhood

I gave this talk last Sunday for Mother's Day. Notice the title...This talk is on Motherhood (more about me being a mother) this talk was not about my mother. Don't get me wrong, I do love my mother very much and I am thankful for her helping me grow up to be the woman I am today.
Here is my talk....

When we were asked to speak I was actually okay about it, mostly because I felt I should take advantage of the opportunity to speak on my favorite topic. While Danny enjoys talking to friends about business, I enjoy talking about Motherhood! And lucky for me I even get the chance to speak on my favorite topic, which I’m sure business is not a topic of choice in sacrament, sorry Danny.

But even though I love the topic I am still nervous. So please bare with me.

Alright.

Ever since I was a young girl all I ever wanted to grow up and be was a mother. If anyone ever asked the question, what do you want to be when you grow up? The answer was always an easy one, “A mother.” At age 7, I remember writing a note to my mom using my special heart shaped stationary…I begged my mom to have another baby and told her that she wouldn’t have to do anything for the baby that I would even name her, Brittany or Breanne. We’ll my mom never did give me that gift so I was a strange little girl who loved my dolls until I was old enough to babysit. At age 12 I was the ward babysitter and I babysat until I left for college. At age 16 I was looking forward to receiving my patriarchal blessing and hearing all about my “11” future children. I remember being very upset and feeling very disappointed about my blessing for many years. I worried that I may never get the opportunity to be a mother on this earth, since my blessing didn’t mention anything about children or motherhood. Well, 9 years later I began my journey of Motherhood.

I remember those first couple days after bringing our first born baby boy home. As I sat all alone in our little studio apartment, I had an overwhelming since of love mixed with a lot of worry for that precious new baby of mine.

And having those feelings over the next 9 years as I brought 5 more sweet sprits into this world.

I keep a blog which is our family journal and as I scrolled through the different posts I’ve written and pictures I’ve posted I couldn’t help but smile about both the joys and the woes I came across.

Some joys I came across…

The birth of each new baby

The many “Firsts” first smile, laugh, roll over, tooth, crawl, step

The kids intently playing together, nicely

Max and Hanna’s walks together.

Van helping one of his siblings smile when they’re sad.

The kids sitting together and talking while enjoying their popsicles.

The joy and excitement from each of the kids as they got the opportunity to meet and hold their new baby brother Clark.

And some of the Woes I came across...

The Vaseline incident, the lotion made with oil and butter, the baby powder, the broken glass table top, the dumped bucket of raw rice, the dumped laundry soap, the mascara, the permanent marker on the cabinets, walls, carpets (you name it), the car crash, the ramen food fight, the indoor water fight using the water from the toilet bowl... It seems as though the list of woes could go on and on. And how fun it is to look back on that list.

~Robert Brault once said, “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things”

If we can just remember to stop and notice the moments, we will really begin to enjoy this journey of Motherhood.

An LDS writer Saydi Eyre Shumway wrote…

I am constantly doing for my family. Mostly I’m doing things out of love but I doubt my children always feel loved as I frantically move them through our daily routines. It’s homework, dinner, chores, potty, hands, teeth, pajamas, book, prayer, song and bed. I breathe a big sigh of relief once I finally get those bedroom doors closed without further protests.

Then eventually, after I finish cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry and paying bills, I sneak into their dark rooms to cover them up. There they lie, angelic and heavy with sleep. In those quiet moments, without the busyness of life cluttering things up, I always feel that powerful mother-love well up inside me. I remember the funny things they said and did during the day that I was too distracted to stop and savor. I think of the promises I made but never kept. That book I never read or that new Lego creation I never looked at. As I watch them sleep and reflect on the day behind us, I get a little glimpse of their world, how hard it is to navigate and how much they need the security of my love wrapped around them. I stand by their beds and squeeze their little hands or stroke their foreheads or press a kiss hard on their cheeks in an attempt to stamp their little beings with all the love I was too preoccupied to dish out during the day.

Love is the most powerful force we have as mothers. Yet, how often do we move through our days without putting our hearts on?

Elder Ballard said, “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.” Elder Ballard acknowledges that some women are “able to be ‘full-time moms,’ [and that] some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work,” but that “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.”

He goes on to say, “There is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood.”

I’m sure there were a few of you young mothers that had to remind your children and maybe even your spouse’s what today was. I know I did. So what is the purpose of Mother’s Day? It’s not a day off, that’s for sure.

A blog writer asked her FB friends to comment about their most wonderful and meaningful Mother’s Day. Which, she got no reply. After more prying she received this comment…

I am not alone in having crushed expectations of that glorious day when I will once again be handed a potted plant at church that will die because remembering to water it amongst the 1,037 other chores is impossible. And when those beautiful, yet insensitive children I am raising don’t stop to bow at my feet and proclaim their undying love and gratitude for all I do each and every day for them. (How dare they!) And when the husband says, “You are not my mother” and I secretly vow to tie his socks in double knots for the remainder of the year. And when my family looks at me at dinnertime and states, “We don’t know what to cook for you, and let’s face it Mom, you cook way better than we do!” Ah, yes, those meaningful, beautiful Mother’s Day memories! Don’t get me wrong. Even with all of this I still think it is the best job on the face of the earth! The bottom line is that the truly meaningful memories don’t happen on Mother’s Day. They happen when you are standing in the airport at 5:30am about to send your first son off to Africa and he leans down to give you one last hug and whispers in your ear, “Don’t worry Mom. You did a great job. I’ll be fine!” Meaningful Mother’s Day memories happen on the least expected days of the year. So, maybe if no one can think of their best Mother’s Day memories, it’s because they’re looking on the wrong day!”

I need to remind myself each year that Mother's Day is not necessarily a day off, it's a day we get to reflect on the joys of motherhood.

And I have to admit I’m not the best daughter to my own mother’s on Mother’s Day. Last year I tried to do really good by sending out Mother’s Day cards to my mom, mother-in-law, step mother, grandmother and sister. I got the cards and placed them in a “special” place not to lose them. Well when the time came to send the cards I couldn’t find them anywhere of course. A few months later I found them and thought now I will have cards for next year. Sadly to say, I missed placed them yet another year! Maybe I will do better next year.

April Perry an L.D.S. blog writer said, "Can we remind each other that it is our uniqueness and love that our children long for? It is our voices. Our smiles. Our jiggly tummies. Of course we want to learn, improve, exercise, cook better, make our homes lovelier, and provide beautiful experiences for our children, but at the end of the day, our children don’t want a discouraged, stressed-out mom who is wishing she were someone else. “

I love the story told byNeil L. Andersen during last Oct. conference…

He said, Having young children is not easy. Many days are just difficult. A young mother got on a bus with seven children. The bus driver asked, “Are these all yours, lady? Or is it a picnic?”

“They’re all mine,” she replied. “And it’s no picnic!”

As the world increasingly asks, “Are these all yours?” we thank you for creating within the Church a sanctuary for families, where we honor and help mothers with children.

Here’s a cute poem I’d like to close with…

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait ’til tomorrow
For children grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs
Dust, go to sleep
I’m rocking my baby
And babies don’t keep

I hope that we will strive to take in the moments of motherhood. That we will love more, teach often and be the best mothers we can be!

I am grateful for Motherhood. For the opportunity I have been given to be a mother. And for the many “MOTHER’S” that have influenced my life.

 Me with Clark.

 I am so thankful for the grandma my mom is to my children!

 4 Generations with Great Grandma Mike, Grandma Susan, Me and Clark.

 Love my Grandma Mike.

Story Time with Max, Walt, Daisy, Hanna and Van.

Class Pictures

Max with 3rd Grade Class

Hanna with 1st Grade Class

Happy 9th Birthday Max

Happy Birthday to our oldest son Max! I can't believe it was 9 years ago today that we started our growing family. It has gone by way too fast! We love you Max!

We gave Max the option of a birthday party or $50.00 this year and he choose the money.

We had Chinese for dinner. Max requested pot stickers. So we had beef noodle soup, pot stickers and cookies on a stick (another birthday request) to celebrate.

Clark

Resting with daddy.

Look at those cheeks!

Trampoline Time

I have to say that I love the trampoline! Yes, even this free junky one we have, because my kids are building relationships with eachother and memories that will last a lifetime on that junky thing.

Hanna

Hanna wanted wavy hair so we gave it a try.

Daisy

I just love how she is sleeping with her blankie on her head.

She thought this was the funniest thing, hiding in the glass cupboard.