The circle of life

In honor of M's baptism this month we "raised" caterpillars into butterflies in correlation to FHE...today was the day...Setting the butterflies free was supposed to this special, magical moment...the kids gathered around in anticipation, wishing well wishes on each butterfly...the first took flight, everyone gasped because of its graceful beauty and cheered the little butterfly on its journey...then a bird bomb dived down and snatched it in its beak, landed in the yard and ripped it apart in front of us...I tried not to bust up laughing and just kept saying "it's the circle of life kids" while Hannah broke into sobs

Car talk

These kids are hilarious.  I know I will look back one day and so miss the cute thoughts and conversations I get to listen to each day as I go about the day.

There are too many precious things to keep track of!  Often I want to write them down but then am torn as I know they need ME and not a mother behind a computer screen.  But I try my best to jot down things here and there, the capture the bits, bottle up there cuteness...but boy do I hope that as I work towards an eternal life that part of that great gift is the ability to be omnipotent, to have a perfect memory of the past(with these cuties)/present/future.

Today Grant, as most of our conversations go, was planning his future birthday party and said he thought of the perfect game!  "I want a Star Wars party! (Lisp included;) We'll play light saber, light saber, gun! (Like duck, duck, goose!"

As I was dropping off the kids Vacation Bible School forms, I told G and E that they will get to go to VBS to which E gives her classic wide eyed excited face, and shouts, "You mean I'm potty trained?!?! Grant I'm potty trained so I get to go to vacation bible school!!!" then kisses each of her tiny biceps!  (TWO years ago, as a motivation for G to potty train at 3 1/2, I promised him he could go to VBS if he was potty trained...huge motivation for him!  And I guess it stuck and passed on to E, even though she has been potty trained for almost a year, ha!)

Gravely Point (aka Airplane Park)

Great evening picnicking with family!

Spring is here!

Our cute neighbor Judy invited my kids to pick flowers in her yard...of course my foragers cleared her out of every last daffodil!

Week at a Glance...

Every day I think of all of the sweet loving moments, hilarious happenings, precious sounds, deep conversations.....now with FIVE kids I feel overwhelmed at the thought of attempting to capture even a portion of the sweetness in writing but am also overwhelmed with the NEED to record, even the smallest bit.  It is all passing by so quickly.  The kids are growing.  This precious, lovely stage of motherhood, with all of the tears, bumps and bruises, and screams of independence included, is flying.  How does a mother even attempt to bottle up the feeling of her sweet 1 year old's (Calvin) baby skin and innocent giggle and need for mama??  How does a mother even summarize the emotional roller coaster (at times also very entertaining) of her lovey, squishable, squeezable, buttermilked skin, fancy wearing 3 1/2 year old (Elyse)??  How does a mother express the special protectiveness of her 5 year old son (Grant) who rushes with over sized snow shovel in hand to shovel the steps on the way inside during a bitter snow storm just for his mama, his contentedness at home, and sweet problem solving attempts to keep the peace in the home??  How does a mother explain the awe she feels watching her almost 8(!!!) year old tender loving, mother-natured, kindhearted, ever bouncing and giggling daughter (Madeline) prepare for the special covenants she will make at her baptism in a few months??  How does a mother describe the pride she feels after having deep, thoughtful discussions with her wise-beyond her years 9 1/2 year old daughter (Hannah) about being courageous in standing for what is right, developing a personal relationship with God through personal prayer, and the joys and curiosities of maturing??  Even writing this fills me with emotional feelings, feelings of the deepest love I have for EACH of my children, equally but also uniquely and independently.  They are each beautiful, bright, full of life, and individual talents.  So often I want to stop and jot down a funny thing said or take time to sit at my computer and blog...but then I don't want to be the mother who is behind my electronics, only seeing my kids through the camera lens or that gadget.  I want to see them with my eyes, look into their eyes  as they share the highs and lows of their day.  I want to snuggle them.  I want to be present.  I hope I am giving that to them.  I try my best, but of course will always feel like I fell short in so many aspects of motherhood.  But I guess that's the nature of motherhood!  They teach me and the shape me.  It is a holy and glorious opportunity to be in the business of raising little humans!!  I hope that part of our heavenly reward will be to have a perfect memory, a perfect sense, of all of this, all of these moments that are whisking by.

And now look!  I had only meant to not overwhelm myself by starting somewhere, keeping it short and simple but given the bare minimum summary of our week...but I can't talk about them without oozing my love for them!  See what I mean?!

Now, to dry up and recap.......(also in hopes that I can share these weekly recaps with my Dad so he feels involved in their lives)....

We had an unexpected snowstorm this past week, causing school to be canceled for two days!  It was great!  I love snow days with my kids.  Either its fun to stay in pjs all day long, cozy by the fire with books and games, bake something yummy, play in the winterwonderland...or often the roads clear and we have a day to go do something fun.  This week gave us the chance to do both, one spent at home with our friends the Olsens, the other an in door gymnastics facility open play with the Davis' and Datchs'.

Madeline especially loved the gymnastics time.  This past Christmas she asked for gymnastics lessons.  She goes once a week for an hour and a half.  She says she loves everything but the balance beam is her favorite.  I love getting there a little early to pick her up to watch her conquer fears and her new found quiet, focused determination.  Its pretty cool to see all that she has learned.  Lately, she has really been practicing her cartwheels off the balance beam.

Elyse and Grant...well they crack me up.  Two peas in a pod most days.  Other days, Elyse likes to show control by running away with one of Grant's special Lego's to try and ruffle his feathers...which usually works...and the negotiations begin and everything is right with the world again.

With all of the new snow we just had to all go skiing up at Whitetail as a family.  I was so proud of each of them.  Each tried something new.  We went at night and had the place to ourselves.  We harnessed Elyse and she worked on making a pizza with her ski tips.  It was the cutest thing ever!  She loved it ("skeeding" as she calls it).  It was so cute the things she would say when she would fall, giggling "What the woozy?" and "Wut oh!"  I was able to ski with Grant for a little and he loved going on the bigger, faster lift with me.  But mainly he was obsessed with finding all of the different sized snow blower machines.  Hannah and Madeline went with Stephen on some Greens and Blues...they are turning!  Its a dream come true doing something active and challenging together...something we can all enjoy together no matter their age.  Its worth the expense! $$$ Now we are counting down our trip out to Deer Valley, Utah with Joe and Sue.

On Saturday Hannah raced in her first Pinewood Derby.  She worked so hard on her car with her school friend Abby (who unfortunately couldn't make it to the Derby because of her grandma's funeral).  Steve and Hannah worked hard to get the wheels just right, tilting wheels, polishing axles, adjusting weights, etc etc...both were really into it.  Hannah was thrilled to take 1st in some of the heats.

It's getting late.......hopefully I can make a better habit of this...

An update I shared on the family update email thread....

Here's a little family summary of the last few weeks from our crew....

Last week, we hiked to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain.  The kids all felt pretty proud after they bouldered up the steep path.  Its no Rocky Mountain but the views were amazing....the leaves just starting to turn and the patchwork fields.

Steve raced in a 50 miler bike race through DC sites and the rolling HILLS of Potomac.  We were all impressed/wowed by Daddys superhuman power...Elyse was sure to tuck him in with her beeshie and snuggles when he crashed on the couch.

I enjoyed a little girl time with some friends, including an 8K run through cute historic Kensington, post-race peddies, and lunch at Black Market Bistro (highly recommend!) in charming Garrett Park, right next to the train stop, post office, and Shaker farmer's market. 

Hannah celebrated her 9th birthday by having a PJ party with some of her closest friends.  They played Minute to Win It Games which was a big hit....she would love to share these fun games with you all at our next family gathering.  She has shown a fresh determination to get the best grades possible in school;) and is finally understanding the purpose and fun in soccer now that they have introduced goalies, real goals, structured positions, etc.  She is very excited to be learning piano from Gramma and has a goal to play a song at Madeline's baptism come spring....and she wants to have a fancy piano recital at their house.

Madeline is also excited to start piano lessons and continues to enjoy soccer (espially doing cartwheels and tackling her friends during the dull practice moments).  She lost another tooth the other day at school and got a little tooth shaped plastic container from the school nurse to hold it in.  She was pretty disappointed when she woke up to her tooth still there and no dollar (bad tooth fairy!!).  But, thank goodness for her creativity, she realized the tooth fairy must have seen the tooth container and saw it as a fake....phew!  Madeline's Brownie Girl Scout Troop started back up again and she is especially looking forward to selling cookies.  

Grant is obsessed with soccer and is an obediant disciple of british accented Coach John.  He wears his Brazil soccer uniform, including socks/shin guards, all day in prep.  He starts preschool in the next few weeks.  One more year until my side kick starts full day Kindergarten and I'm already getting teary eyed.  I love haivng him by my side and always requesting to play Legos.  He ate a chip yesterday and said it was "poking his heart"...which caused me to bust up thinking of that video again!  These are tender hearts!

Elyse.  She is Queen.  She strips down first thing in the morning to put on a dress/leotard/tutu.  She is in ballet with a few little girls and it is the fluffiest, pinkest site you have ever seen.  She keeps all laughing.  And humble.  She is still obsessed with Frozen and wants to play the same scenario repeatedly....she is Elsa.  I am Anna.  She runs away.  I beg her to "come back", "please don't run away", "you don't have to be afraid anymore", etc.  Repeat. 

  

Calvin is 6 1/2 months.  He has two bottom front teeth and the cutest gummy smile.  I thank my lucky stars he is so content and happy.  Whenever any of us has had a bad day, we talk about Calvin, we think about Calvin, and we rub his chubby, soft thighs.  Does wonders for the soul.

Tucking in daddy

This little sweetheart wanted to tuck in her daddy with her beeshie while he took a post-50-miler bike race nap. Yay daddy!

Crunch crunch

I heard some serious crunching and munching coming from behind the couches and found this....

Elyse got pretty embarrassed, which is a typical reaction when she is caught doing something sneaky...then says things like "Don't peak at me!" or "I don't want you to see me!" I think it's her sweet, young conscience developing...

and he eats!

Scarfing down his lunch...these pouches held the secret to getting this tight lipped, 6 monther to eat his veggies! Love this boy of mine

Family Home Evening

Operation "Canopy Clubhouse" beautification.

Motherhood

I woke up this morning to a delicious, thoughtful breakfast in bed. And immediately I felt how lucky I am to be married to such a wonderful man, my equal partner in parenting, and how blessed I feel to be a mother to FIVE incredible children.

Motherhood is one of the greatest gifts in my life. I feel so full of gratitude to my Father in Heaven for the opportunity to have taken part in the creation process through FIVE pregnancies, labories, and deliveries.  

A hot topic in the Church is the role of women, combined with the roles and responsibilities of the priesthood....

(never got to finish this post....adorable baby boy needed to eat...hopefully more thougths later...)

Can't stop laughing about this mommy moment...

Picture this: Mom (me) walking through Target in her typical workout getup, not because I have but because I "hope" to exercise but it also gives me another good excuse for not showering, and looking extra tired/disheveled due to sleepless nights (Calvin + Madeline's rougher than expected recovery from tonsillectomy), pushing a shopping cart full of 5 dangling monkeys, who though look extra dirty/sticky/neglected after playing in the dirt while eating Popsicles with friends are actually full smiles. Now it's typical for THIS little monkey to make random, and often out of place, daily declarations like: "We don't hit Calvin" or "Don't eat my shoe" or "We don't put babies in holes" or "Don't drop me in the trash". We get it. She's usually trying to remind herself of a family rule, trying to command a new rule as only a two yr old can, trying to take a guess at what she thinks might possibly be a rule, or just trying to be silly. Well that day in Target she decides to say, in the sweetest mousy almost helpless voice, "Don't hit me Mommy. Don't hit me" over and over again as we walk past the aged 50+ bystanders waiting for their prescriptions...Who would you believe?? 

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday golf lessons w/ Daddy

Finally caught in the act...

This precious, smiley boy is 7 weeks and couldn't be more adored!