Mom

My mom came to take care of us this last week.

I am so GRATEFUL!  

(And not just because she's going to read this blog.)

She did all the laundry AND matched all the socks (not to mention found all the socks).  

I hate matching socks.  I'm really in favor of the mismatched socks that kids think are cool these days.  Well for the kids anyway.  I personally won't wear mismatched socks.  Come to think of it neither will Phillip.

Mom also cleaned and helped me (okay she did it, I laid on Phillip's bed) go through Maija and Phillip's clothes to get rid of the clothes and shoes that are too small.  We took about 5 trash bags full of clothes and shoes and other stuff to Goodwill.

I'm not good at loading stuff up to take to Goodwill.  

 She made dinner and drove us around.  She made the kids breakfast and took them to school.  She had a pizza lunch with all of them and talked to them about Aunt Ila (really it was a talk on table manners and that Aunt Ila would have been proud!) on Thursday and then took them all to their appointments.

I'm so very grateful for a mom who is willing and able to come take care of us when I am down, especially when Stuart had to work late 3 of the 4 days he was at work this week!

The kids were so excited to have her come.  We don't get to see her very often and it was thrilling to them that she was coming and it wasn't a holiday!  They even got the traditional "Grandma breakfast" of pop tarts and hot chocolate every day.

Stuart was excited to have her come because it meant he could go back to work.  He doesn't think he'd make a very good stay at home mom.  

And I was excited because really, when you don't feel the greatest having your mom around is all a person could ask for!

THANK YOU mom!  We Love you!!

Choose to be Happy

I can't do it.  I thought I could.
I thought I'd be able to blog about what has happened in the last 2 weeks and I can't.

Suffice it to say that I had surgery on the 27th and spent the night in the hospital.  I'm healing slowly but it's supposed to be a slow recovery.

I'm Choosing to be Happy.
I wasn't sure if I could be.  But after visiting with our Bishop and receiving some great advice:
"Don't forget to put your faith in the Lord."
I'm going to be happy.

Funny how being reminded of something so basic when you are facing something you don't know if you can handle helps to reign in the fears.

So, I'm choosing to be Happy and grateful that I have the family I have.
I have 4 beautiful children.
And one very wonderful husband.
And a heap of friends.

Summer lovin' had me a blast!

The last time I posted was in July.  

Apparently I'm a slacker.  Or, I've been really busy.  

While I have been busy, I'm still a slacker.

We had a great summer!  

Samuel played soccer coached by Stuart.  KatieJo went to Grandma and Grandpa Mobley's, Maija hung out at home and Phillip had surgery to take out his tonsils and adenoids.  

The doctor told us it would be great for the first day or so and then he'd get worse.  They weren't joking with us.  He only needed pain meds once the first day and then he needed them right on schedule or he'd be in a lot of pain!  He's healed now and his throat looks fabulous.  Although he now has a very nasally voice that is a little high pitched.  We're pretty sure it's because he had such big adenoids and tonsils that he just hasn't managed to figure out how to talk right without them yet.  

We got to visit both the Baxley family and the Mobley's in August.  We met Chaney's family in Yellowstone for a week.  We all loved Yellowstone!  It was amazing and the kids are already asking to go back.  

After Yellowstone we stayed with Stuart's parents and got to celebrate Stuart's dad's 60th birthday and for got to be in the Temple with 10 of Stuart's siblings while the youngest 3 were sealed to the family.  

Then school started.  

Such a sad day in our home.  It means we don't really see Stuart until the first week in November.  

All 4 kids are in school for at least part of the day 4 days a week.  Maija and Phillip are in school for 2.5 hours a day and I get those hours all to myself.  I really thought I'd be bored and I was for exactly one day and then I figured out I'm a whole lot more busy when they are in school than I ever planned on being!

We don't have a lot of downtime right now.  Both boys are playing flag football and so when we could be home on Saturday they both have games at different times.  

Whew!  I really thought we'd get back into a good rhythm once school started but I'm starting to think we had it really good this summer!

Lonely

I love my kids.  And I have a hard time being away from them.

Needless to say when Stuart and KatieJo talked about her spending a few weeks with Stuart's parents this summer I was apprehensive.  Truthfully apprehensive doesn't quite do how I was feeling justice.  

It has nothing to do with where she is but more the fact that she's not at home with us.  

I gave in and let her go.

But OH HOW I MISS THAT GIRL!

I miss just chatting with her, going grocery shopping or just plain shopping and listening to her giggle.

We go get her next weekend and I can't wait!

We've talked to her just about every evening, but it's just not the same.  

I'm glad she's having a good time getting to know her new Aunt's and playing with her cousins.  

However, I am SO very excited to have our family complete again!

This next week Samuel will be gone camping with his best friends family.  I'm glad he too is having and adventure this summer.  It's just so quiet around the house!
  I get tired of their fighting, but I sure do miss them when they are gone!!

We have one of the sweetest nephews staying with us this week!

Due to a sad turn of events we have the privileged of having Stuart's oldest sister's son Joshua staying with us until we head back to Montana later this week.

He is 2 months older than Samuel and he is super sweet and quiet...although that may be because my kids are LOUD!

Stuart's Grandpa Staples passed away on Sunday morning. 

We are very sad that Grandpa is gone, however he was in the last stages of Alzheimers and had recently lost a lot of weight.  It was very quick and from what I've been told fairly painless.  We didn't find out until last week that he was sick at all. 

Stuart and Samuel managed to make it back to Montana VERY early Saturday morning with Stuart's brother James and they got to spend the day Saturday with Grandpa.

I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to know Grandpa Staples.  He was an amazing man!  When Stuart and I got married he looked at Stuart and said "if you hurt her, you'll answer to me."  I hadn't even known him for a week at that point.  I will always love him for making me feel special!

Rest in Peace Grandpa!  Can't wait until we get to see you again!

I Chose You

We have this book by Lindsey Shumway.

Most of you know we've adopted 3 of our 4 children.  The first time I saw this book I started crying.  

Stuart thought I was nuts, but bought the book for me.  

You see, I've know for a LONG time that KatieJo, Samuel & Maija were meant to be mine. 

And when I found this book I realized that they really were meant to be mine.

Both KatieJo and Samuel have asked a lot of questions about their adoption and whether we love them more than Phillip.  

We've always told them that they were lucky because we got to choose them. 

This book is a favorite in our house for that reason and many others. 

If you haven't read this book you should.  

With a box of tissues.

I'm so grateful for my children!

And I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who let me "choose" them!

This post was brought on because I have 3 sick children right now.  Funny enough I'm not particularly stressed out by it.  I haven't gotten anything done what so ever.  Not even laundry.  (Bless Stuart and his willingness to do laundry!)

We've been doing a lot of reading lately.  In fact that's all Maija wants to do.  And, of course we've read this book a lot.  

I'm not thrilled that my babies are sick, but it sure is nice to be able to just stop and cuddle.  Usually they are too busy to cuddle and read forever with me.  But not this week, and I intend to enjoy every second of it!

Just Dance

I've discovered something about myself in the past month.  

It doesn't necessarily come as a shock to me.  And I'm pretty sure it won't to you either.

I'm a very rigid parent.  

I like to control things....A lot.

My poor children. 

I'm not very good at dropping things and just going with the flow.  It's my way or no way.

I have one child who is the same way.  

Unfortunately we both think we should be right which has led to quite a few power struggles.

And some counseling sessions.  Okay, a lot of counseling sessions for the said child and us as parents. 

You know what I've learned? 

I've got to let go and relax.

Turns out that's harder to do than I imagined.  

I'm trying.  VERY hard.

We danced while I was making dinner tonight.  For 15 minutes (doesn't sound like a lot, but I was cooking at the same time).  

Before the reformed me came out I would have been telling them to clean something, or do something constructive.  The reformed me however danced.  

And it was fun.  And we were all smiling.  

AND the best part...Stuart came home to a very happy family.

I think we'll do it again before bed. 

Dancing is good for the soul (and the waistline...LOL!)

And for the short people who live in my house and like to dance with mom...on her feet.

Gotta love that!