Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the times when I have been faced with a difficult situation and I go to church and have a seemingly uneventful day of it and yet I still leave having had the answer occur to me.  I am thankful that He knows me and understand my thoughts and worries and helps me be able to process them. 

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful to have finally caught the mysterious Fruit Loop thief in the house.  Our pantry and kitchen floor have been terrorized for so long and now the mystery is solved.  I couldn't turn her in though because of those big blue eyes.  Instead I took a picture and let her finish cleaning the floor.

I am also thankful for the little moments where I feel so blessed as a mom.  My son read me a book last night.  Nearly all by himself.  Several times I was ready to jump in and help him with a word that I thought would be hard and he would take a second longer and read it perfectly.  He is so smart!  I love to hear him read and I am amazed every time I do.  It seems like only days ago he was in the beginning reading phases.  And although he is still grasping it - he is sooooo good already.  I am so blessed to have children who are fully functioning, bright little kids.

I am also thankful for this experience with our exchange student.  Chantal comes from a different home and culture than us so it has taken some time to adjust with her.  She is adapting and learning about our family and culture and doing marvelously.  I feel the same pride and love for her whenever she accomplishes something that was hard for her before as I do when Lyman or Corilynn or Ruby does.  She has learned to be a hard worker.  With the many hiccups and difficulties she has had adjusting over the past weeks to us and America she has had to stand up and work hard at being here and learning things.  Every time she makes the decision to keep trying and not quit I see more growth in her.  I feel sorry her parents are not here to experience every moment of this.  She is going to go home such a beautiful, dynamic and mature woman.  I am seeing this development process in her and find myself figuratively sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what a smart, capable and confident women she will come home to Germany as.  She still has her same lively, funny personality that she came with and so it all just goes so well together. 

She has taken up card making as a hobby like me.  In just a few short days she has created some of the prettiest cards I have ever seen.  I'm going to copy them, they are so cute.  She is so talented and lovely to be around and its fun to spend time doing projects together.  I remember when she first got here and struggled a bit with the language.  Now she jokes and dreams in English and really loves the kids.  I am really loving this and beginning to think the time is going super fast.  I cant even describe how it feels to have her in our home.  She is our daughter and I'm just happy.

Oh a funny story with her.  She and I were writing down words to use for a game of Pictionary with the kids for family night.  She said to me "how about beer" - I of course was like "um no " (looking at Lyman who was working with us) " we don't want to draw beer."  "Why not?" she said.  "Cause we don't drink beer and so we don't want to draw it" (I'm thinking- really for a game with kids???) and then she was like, "Oh no, BEER" making clawing hand movements.  "ohh you mean BEAR?" She said "Yes, the animal!" - we all laughed because she meant to say bear and was pronouncing it wrong. 

Fall Leaves = Big Fun

I have a love/hate relationship with the fall. Its my favorite time of year for the beauty of it all. I love the fall colors in the trees and I sort of like the crisp, cool weather. But I am not a big fan of raking leaves. My kids however see a big pile of leaves and their world is unleashed into a fantasy world of fun and merriment. I cant help myself but smile too because not only are their smiles contagious but I remember thinking jumping in leaves and burying myself was a lot of fun.

I am not going to be happy when gone are the days of my kids wanting to jump in the leaves.  Although -- perhaps then will begin the days of them having to do the raking instead of me.... hmmm.

Thankful Thursday

Hmmm.. today is going to be a yummy thankful Thursday.  Today I am taking the kids (and Andy wanted to tag along so he is getting off work too - always my additional kid) to the Schwebel's Baking Company in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.  We are doing the tour of the factory where the local company prepares and makes all their bread.  Cant wait to see all the cool machinery and smell the yummiest scent in the world - baking bread.  Bonus: you get a free loaf of bread for each person on the tour.  Its nice to have a million kids for that reason.  :)

Happy Birthday Lyman!

My little man is growing up.  He is six today.  Which means he is that much closer to being grown up and walking out the door to college.  SIX!  This feels like a big year for me because gone are the days of him being able to proudly display his age with one hand.  That's big folks!  I wonder if Ill feel totally crushed when he gets to 11 and can no longer say his age in fingers.

Well Lyman you are getting bigger.  I knew you were when you gave me a note saying "I love you" and you didn't ask for help writing it.  I knew you were getting bigger when you figured out some of the words in your scripture verse when we read as a family.  I knew you were getting bigger when you protested wearing what I picked out for you today for school.  I don't know what was wrong with the tan jacket I chose but I thought it was cute on you and it looked cosy with its flannel lining.  I knew you were getting bigger when you stopped coming in to cuddle me in the mornings.  At least you will still hold my hand if I reach for yours.  So now that you are big here are some of the things you can do at 6:

You can read many words and sound out just about any other word.
You can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  You are my little math whiz.
You can ride the big bike and skateboard on the three wheeled skateboard.
You can tie your own shoe. Don't forget to double knot it.
You can say your own prayers and most of the time they are unique and not the same things every time.
You can drive your sister crazy and invoke screams from her in nanoseconds. 
You can make both sister's laugh quicker than anyone else in the house.
You like a good joke.
You have two missing baby teeth and one humongous big tooth coming in.  It looks a bit crooked - hello braces.
You can figure out games on the computer and you know everything that happens and when in each of the 6 Star Wars episodes.
You can have my heart in a matter of moments whenever you say "I love you".

Overwelmed and Pooped

Today has just been "one of those days".  It has been a long weekend with little sleep and this morning the alarm went off as it always does when it is time to get up and get ready for church.  I moved into my routine of getting ready and getting the kids ready.  I was having to fight them just about on every turn to get ready and to stay quiet because Chantal was still sleeping off a late night of homecoming.  We finally make it to church and I am in a state of subdued moods.

When I pull Ruby out of the car seat I notice she is poopy and so I make a mental note of how I am going to get into the church, get all the kids settled, work with Lyman on his tithing he was excited about because of his birthday money and still change her diaper without having to haul all three kids into the bathroom to do it.  I decided to leave Ruby in her stink and help Lyman do his tithing and get our pew settled into the usual coloring and reading of books.  When I first saw Andrew I asked him to choose between going to change Ruby for me or watching the other kids while I did.  He picked watching the kids.

I went to change Ruby's diaper - tired and not entirely ready to wrestle the three kids during sacrament meeting that was starting in 10 minutes.  With Ruby on my hip I head into the bathroom.  A few things happened seemingly all at once - Ruby decided she was terrified of being laid down on the changing table (?) so she screamed and squirmed and didn't want to be put down, I noticed she had poop all over her outfit and legs, and I had poop all over my shirt as well.  It was one of those I-wish-I-could-disappear-to-a-corner-and-cry moments.  After cleaning Ruby all over and removing ALL of her clothes leaving her only in a diaper I tried to clean my own shirt.  No going.  So I remove it because I have a shirt under it - poop smeared too - awesome! 

I just wanted to cry and almost did.  Now I was having to get back to the kids and Andrew looking a mess with a naked baby and a shirt that is really more of a modest undershirt now stained with poo.  I peeked into the sacrament meeting room and waved down Andrew who came out and then came the tears too.  I had no idea what to do.  The obvious solution would be to just go home - I live 25 minutes from the church and so I would have just stayed home probably.  But I couldn't because Lyman was so excited all morning about how this was the Sunday they would sing happy birthday to him because his birthday was this week.  He was looking forward to it and if I went home so did all my kids because Andrew couldn't have the kids on the stand with him.  I just cried because I knew I was going to have to face total embarrassment over my own outfit and the nakedness of my baby.  I cursed myself over and over for not replacing that extra outfit usually in the diaper bag for Ruby. I asked for Andrew' jacket to at least cover me a bit.

I went back into sit with my kids and couldn't stop the tears.  I looked ridiculous in Andy's jacket holding a wiggling naked baby.  Words cannot describe how miserable I felt.  It is so hard to get ready by myself, get the kids ready and then to have to choose to sacrifice my dignity to allow my son a few moments of self esteem building in Primary.  After a few minutes I looked around and didn't see one of my friends yet and hoped that perhaps she hadn't left for church yet and thought maybe I can call her for a shirt.  I deposited the baby in a neighbor's lap and ran out to the hallway where I was met by the husband of one of my friends - holding his suit jacket for me so Andy could have his back.  I felt bad about having to make Andrew look silly on the stand without a suit jacket - but really what did it matter.  I declined it because Id rather be wearing my husbands than any other guys even with Andy on the stand. 

I ran to the other side of the church where I hoped to find this friend and ask her to go back to her home to get me a shirt (she lived close).  I stopped with another friend where I couldn't help but burst into tears again when I asked for her help.  She gladly offered me one of her shirts.  She was wearing one and a sweater over it.  In the bathroom I cried as she gave me her shirt and replaced her sweater over her.  I looked cuter now than I did when I came to church.  I couldn't believe how sweet she was.  Before I got back to my kids I ran into the husband of yet another friend holding his wife's shirt.  She was on her way home with a sick kid and left him her shirt for me.  I don't know what she drove home in.  I couldn't believe she would be willing to drive home shirtless so I could have hers.  When I got back to my kids in the pew, I looked decent - if you disregard my puffy, teary eyes. 

A few minutes later the friend who loaned me her shirt passed me her son's shirt.  She has a baby the same age as Ruby.  He was now wearing his sweater over a bare body too.  I felt so loved and taken care of.  It was still such a horrible day but Heavenly Father gave me such great friends who really came to my need at such a terrible moment. 

This is why I go to church.  Because I know this church is true, true in its doctrine and in its principles.  True enough to teach and compel so many people to literally give me the shirt off their backs so that I did not have to sit miserably in an over sized suit jacket.  True enough to allow me to support and sympathy from so many sources.  True enough to hear the first friend's husband (the one who offered me his jacket) offer the opening prayer at church and pray for those who are in need of comfort to be comforted - true enough to know and feel he was praying for me.  True enough to have a Father in Heaven hear those prayers and send me so many sources of comfort.

Thankful Thursday in Pictures

I am thankful for friends that keep us laughing.  Pictured here is a present given to Andy on his birthday of the time machine from Napoleon Dynamite complete with crystals.

 I am thankful for thoughtful little boys who take the grass clipping cast offs of the lawn mower to do something creative.   Pictured below is his name.

 Pictured below is on my list of all-time-awesome-to-be-a-mom moments. 

 Pictured below is a picture he made for me of my grass-chalk self.

 I am grateful for chocolate chip pancakes in the morning - if only for the happy smiles they make on little babies.  Ymmm chocolate pancakes are good!



Artistic Briefs

Earlier I posted my frustrations with my kids and what seemed like their inability to master the art of toilet training.  I have to post this because I have found a trick (hopefully it is not temporary) that has helped motivate them out of their laziness and to keep dry.  Here is what I did:

I went to the store and bought plain jane white girls and boys underwear (it was the cheapest too).  The kids are used to getting all kinds of character underwear (princess, star wars, transformers).  Needless to say seeing the plain white underwear did not thrill them.  They were not excited at all.  But I told them that for everyday they stayed dry I would give them a pair and some fabric markers and they could do whatever design or character they wanted on them.

Wahlah!  Three accident free days in a row from both children.  I love it!  So today we started decorating their underwear.  A side note here: both have decorated at least one pair with the word "Mom" on it.  Don't know how I feel about that one but Ill take it considering the success so far.  I may never buy character underwear again.