My Brother's Keeper

We went for a walk by the river, for Family Home Evening.

We made a stop by the candy store, where the kids got to use money from our loose change bucket. They each had about $3.00 in change. We let them choose whatever they wanted, as long as they kept it within their budget. They all did pretty good. They found some decent stuff. (The candy store can be pretty expensive.) We always make them go to the cashier themselves, so they can learn about money transactions. (I love it when they drop a bunch of random change in front of the cashier.) :-) 

After that, we headed for the river. . .

William was pretty tired, since it was getting late, he wanted to hold Daniel's hand. 

Daniel was happy to oblige. 

 It struck me that even after bickering over toys and having some not-so-nice moments together . . . they still loved each other at the end of the day. 

 How cool is Daniel . . . a 9 year old boy, willing to hold his brother's hand. :-) 

And then William got really tired, and thirsty, and he could not walk any more. So Daniel offered his back . . . for a LONG time!! 

He was really strong, and did not complain about carrying the extra burden on his back -- though it was obviously very hard. 

Am I my brother's keeper . . . ?

YES, YES, YES! 

Way to go Daniel!

These are the moments that make a mother's heart soar. These are the moments I cherish over ANY OTHER accomplishment that they might master in life. If they love each other, THAT is the greatest accomplishment of ALL!! 

New Calling

I was just called as a Relief Society teacher. 

This is the 

Best. Calling. Ever. 

(Besides Young Women's.) 

It is actually what I was doing before we left our Liberty Ward. I am excited about it.  I love to teach, and I especially love to teach the ladies. Should be fun! 

Now to find someone to hold the baby . . . Mom?? :-) 

(Unlike the picture, I will be teaching in English. )

Henry

 I sure love having Baby Henry around. 

He brings out the best in all of us. And he makes us giggle. :-) 

(Sorry for the image quality, these were moments captured by iPhone.) 

Here he is as a Rapunzel Baby (That is my hair)

 Such a sweet face . . . getting nice and chubby. All his baby acne is gone and you just want to suck his cheeks off! :-) 

I think this picture looks like my brother's baby, Scooter. 

 Can you guess what he is doing?? 

When he poops, he POOPS!! It is hilarious to watch! 

 It was so cute . . . Sammi put a balloon in his hand, and he held onto it for a long time. 

My visiting teacher loves to hold him during Relief Society class. Yesterday, he barfed down her shirt. :-) 

Babies are the best! We love you Henry!

Good Luck, Kary!

My sister, Kary, is running her 2nd marathon tomorrow! 

It is the Midnight Sun Marathon, in Alaska. 

Good luck, Kary!!

I know you can do it! YOU know you can do it! 

If you can run like this . . . you can do anything! 

 This girl has overcome Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome that plagued her for 3 years. It was the weirdest thing. She was a peppy gym teacher, and then . . . BAM! She was flat on her back, exhausted, and hardly able to do anything. I remember talking to her over the phone, and she would just be crying -- wondering how she was going to make it through another day. BUT, she did not lose hope. She overcame, and has become STRONGER THAN EVER! 

She is an inspiration . . . proof that you can do anything! 

Love you, Kary. 

Best of luck tomorrow! Run a mile for me! :-) 

You can do it! You WILL do it! 

We love you!

Babies

My parents are coming back from their mission in 1 week. My mom is especially excited because in the last few months, she has had 3 new grandsons born! 

Levi Jordan - born in March 

(Brother Johnny and Mindy's baby)

*picture taken by Mindy's incredibly talented sister

Henry Jones - born in April

 (My baby)

Michael - June 

(Sister Beth and James' brand new baby)

Not too long now, grandma, and you will get to snuggle each one!

 Just think . . . in 19 years, they will all go on missions at the same time! :-) 

Baby Michael

Baby Michael

My sister, Beth, just had her new baby, Michael. When I saw his picture, I was AMAZED by how much he looks JUST like his older brother, Blake. 

Blake and Me, last summer. He is a cutie-head. Love the eyes. 

 My sweet sisters, Beth (Beppy) and Kary. Beppy had to have a C-section because Michael decided he was going to stick his hand out and wave at the world.

Welcome to the world Michael! Good job Beppy! We love you! 

This and That

Summertime is in full swing. 

I love the summer . . . with carefree days, and no schedules. Around here we try to keep things open -- so that if we want to have fun, we can! The school year is plenty stressful, and full of schedules and work. I like for my children to have time to play, explore, relax, and soak in the joys of childhood. Childhood passes SO quickly, I want them to look back and remember their blissful summer days and smile. 

Daddy met us at a school park. The boys were so excited to see him. 

Henry enjoying his summer. 

 Kicking back, watching a movie. Love my boys! 

Movie night is a big thing at our house. Friday night is family movie night. We don't have cable, so movies are a big deal! :-) 

 We have been making random trips to the pool. I sit on the sidelines with Henry, and daddy plays with the kids. 

 I do try to have some activities for the kids, but nothing stressful. Here they are painting Prayer rocks. (You put them under your pillow to remind you to pray.) 

So far the summer has been wonderful. It has been really nice to relax a little after having Henry. We were in the thick of things with moving, doctor appointments, school, etc., right after giving birth, so things were nutty. Now, things have calmed-down a little and I have been enjoying it, a lot! We do get out for our "runs" most mornings, and after that . . . time is OURS!!! Love it! 

*Oh, and only one more week until my parents come home to us! Hooray! 

Determined

You know you are determined when you are out running, stop at a bench to breastfeed a crying baby, and then keep running. (That was me, yesterday.)

Yup, just keep moving forward . . . that's all you can do! No excuses!  

Just for the record: 2 months postpartum running feels like painful torture. My stomach aches on the inside from lack of muscles and extra chub-rolls. My legs feel like I have never run before. My feet feel like they are being crushed. I am SO SLOW it makes me want to cry. I am packing an extra 50+ pounds and I  FEEL. EVERY. POUND. The mental battle raging in my head is loud and violent. It is hard, REALLY hard -- just to keep going. 

BUT, I have done this before (a few postpartum times).  I have been exactly where I am before and I can remember the pain of starting over. It is HARD. However, I turkey-trotted my body almost daily, and I was able to  accomplish my goal before. (Photo is proof and motivation.)

So I can do it again, yes? 

I WILL DO IT AGAIN. 

YES! 

May I master my mind to make it happen! 

(Because it is a mental thing, even more than physical.) 

One step at a time . . . moving forward. 

Determined. 

Root Beer Judging

 I am not a huge fan of Root Beer . . . but Charles loves it. 

We decided it would be fun to have a little Root Beer judging contest, to determine which one is the best . . . it was harder than you would think! 

(I personally think most of them tasted the same.) 

William thought they were all great. He would pick each one up and say, "Great, awesome, I love it!" The other kids were a little more picky. They had to pick their favorite by tasting each one, not knowing what it was. (We labeled each one with a letter.)

  The conclusion . . . 

We all like different Root Beers!

William picked . . . MUG

Daniel picked . . . Henry Weinhard

 Sammi . . . A&W

 Me . . . Jackson Hole Soda "Buckin Root Beer". I thought it was the most flavorful -- the rest seemed flat. 

Charles . . . Sioux City Root Beer

It was an exciting activity. The kids loved it. 

But next time . . . it is my choice. 

Next time, we are judging CHOCOLATE!

Now THAT sounds like fun!