Doing Something Right

Most days, well a lot of days, as a mother I feel like I am failing in one aspect or another. Lets be honest, parenting is hard stuff. Staying at home with four little mongrels is emotionally draining and often leaves me wondering where I am going wrong. It is easy to focus and dwell on those feelings, but yesterday....I did it right. The whole day, I felt like I was doing things right. And though it may sound like bragging, I am so darn proud of myself and want to document it for the days that feel not so right.

It all started when we got up and got ready for church. We made it out the door without any arguing and on time for our 9:00 meeting. 9:00 is proving easier for my family to make on time, in fact we have a regular pew we sit on. That's big time. Sacrament was uplifting, the talks were good and my kids were well (ish) behaved...enough that we didn't have to take anyone out or give them the evil stare down. After the first meeting, we all went our separate ways. My last two hours were extremely thought provoking and I left church feeling good. Really good.

Scott had a meeting after church, so the boys and I headed home without him. We changed clothes, ate lunch and cleaned up the house. Cleaning up the house after church is a major sore spot for the kids, mainly Beckett. But, I can't rest in mess, so it gets clean with or without argument. And yesterday, it was without. I was so patient with the kids. I guided them, encouraged them and played games with them as they cleaned up. The house was done in about 30 minutes, just it time for me to head to my meeting.

I had a scout meeting where I participated and my input was valid and appreciated. I finally feel like I have a good grip scouts and know where I stand and what we can do to improve. It always feels good to be needed and wanted.

I came home and snuggled on the couch while watched the rest of a movie Scott and the boys had started. After the movie was over, we turned off the TV and found other activities to do. We had a nice quiet (to us. Quiet is a relative term these days) afternoon. I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen preparing dinner and talking with the boys. And giving them turns helping me make muffins, or chicken, or rice. When Beckett couldn't wait a minute longer for dinner to cook, instead of cleaning the mess I had made, I sat down on the couch with him and read a book. Soon, all the boys were gathered round and laying on top of me reading the animal encyclopedia until the buzzer went off. 

We sat around the table and picked up our conversation from lunch about what we learned at church. Instead of just nodding and listening, Scott and I asked questions. We encouraged discussions and talked about the upcoming week. We all cleared the table, got backpacks ready for school and brushed teeth.

We ended the night with scripture study. We were reading so faithfully the year before Tayden got baptized, but fell out of the habit. Now that Beckett is seven, we are reading the Book of Mormon with him this year, so he can finish it before his baptism. We let everyone take a turn reading and it warmed my heart. Having one extra fluent reader and an emergent reader and two that like to repeat, make scriptures extra pleasant.

We hugged and kissed and sent them on their way to bed. The littlest boys were beat and fell right asleep. Beckett, however, wanted to read more, so he and I cuddled on the couch and read another 15 verses together. My heart soaked it up.

After everyone was in bed and tucked in tight, Scott and I sat down and had our weekly finance meeting. We made new goals and planned how to achieve them. It is such a simple gesture, but I love this time of the week.

Everything settled down and the house was clean and quiet. I read my book while Scott did homework. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and love for the day. Heavenly Father must have known I needed a win and I thanked him over and over that he sent me one.

These are the days that make me say, "I got this!" Its a good reminder that we are greater than we think we are. We are more than we believe. And we are capable of great things.

Party time

Tayden had his friend party today. Considering its basketball season, he had quite a few that couldn't make it, but they had fun none the less. Scott showed them how to make marshmallow guns and  then they taped them up cool. The plan was to have a war downstairs with them, but our marshmallows were pretty sticky and weren't working so well. So we improvised and used nerf guns, makeshift grenades and threw the marshmallows instead. Here is the different between boys and moms...when they asked to throw the marshmallows, I was thinking one at a time. What they meant was by the handful. Despite the huge disaster, the boys had a lot of fun. It was totally worth it. 

I'm grateful Tayden has such great friends! 

Birthdays For Days

It's birthday time again. 

Beckett turned seven! Normally I say I can't believe it, but this one I can. B has been acting seven for some time and I have thought him as such. He is the best of the best. He is extremely smart, super duper funny and has more passion than anyone I know. He is quick to get angry, but is learning to control it more and more each day. He is the first to hug me, tell me he loves me and never refuses a cuddle. 

Beckett loves to build and use his hands. He is great at math and is getting better at reading. He is a mess and hates cleaning. He eats like a horse and is growing like a weed. He loves his family fiercely and nothing means more to him then love, support and feeling like he is important. 

It was his year for a family party. He wanted to celebrate by going to McDonalds and playing the Xbox together, so that's exactly what we did. It was his perfect evening! 

Tayden turned nine. Now, while I can believe he's nine, I can't believe I have been a mom for nine years. It blows my mind! Tayden will always be my guinea pig, but he doesn't seem any worse for the wear. He is the best big brother, stands up for what is right and is my right hand man. He has turned into quite the funny man and loves to make people laugh. 

Tayden is athletic. He loves parkour, football and baseball. He is aware of his body and so good at movement. He is good at math, a (mostly) fluent reader and loves school. He keeps things tidy and organized, like his mom, and hates to be late. He hates fruit, except apples. He's obsessed with the TV show The Flash and will always try new things. 

He is having a friend party in a few days, so we kept it low key tonight. Scott took him to the movie, the we ate yummy dinner and had Rice Krispie treats. 

These boys are my world and I wouldn't trade them for a million dollars. I love them so deeply and am thankful everyday that I was chosen to be their mom. Happy birthday, boys! 

Catch Up

A little January catch up, because things have been so busy.

FRIENDS

I am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people. Last week, my dearest friend from Las Vegas, Melissa Turney was in Utah. Scott watched the boys and I drove down to spend the day with her. We went to lunch, browsed a book store and just chatted at her moms house. It was a wonderful day. And as she said, Heavenly directed relationships always last the longest.

Then, Jodie and I spent Tuesday evening in the temple together. Its so great having my best friend across the street. She is my daily text, the finder of my lost words and all around pure gold. As President Kimball said, "True friends make living the gospel easy" And I couldn't agree more.

WOLF
Tayden earned his wolf badge. He worked hard over the last year to achieve this goal and he is so excited to be a bear. I will miss having him in my scouts group, but am excited for his upcoming adventures. We have such a fun Scout Leader. Part of the passage is drinking "wolf blood"and it is far and wide the thing he was looking forward to the most.

Date Night

Scott and I went to the Lindsey Stirling concert in Rexburg a few nights ago. It was fun and something new. The concert was quite psychedelic and Scott commented if he went into shock it was from the lights and I said if I did it was from the bass. Then we both laughed about how we were too old for such a crazy concert. All in all it was really fun and any time I get to spend one on one with him is precious. 

Basketball Beckett

Beckett is playing basketball this season and totally loving it. Tayden opted out this year and decided to do parkour, which he is loving. I'll post pictures later.

Beckett is really fun to watch. He loves to play center and jumping for the ball, dribbling the ball and he loves defense. He takes it quite seriously and stares down his opponent with the death stare. And from some little kids, a big red head in their face can be pretty intimating.

He's happy, so I'm happy. 

Christmas Pictures

So apparently I don't have as many Christmas pictures as I thought I did. But I cannot let these pictures of us in our Christmas Onsies get away!! This was darn near my favorite part of Christmas. 

Seriously, so much fun. 

Sledding

We are so lucky to have the best grandparents/in-laws. We spent some time out in Inkom today doing one of the kids favorite things--sledding! Grandpa Packard pulled the boys around for over an hour and even let Beckett drive for a bit. They all enjoyed it and lasted way longer than I thought they would. Even Kyle hung in there most the time, of course some of it was spent driving with Grandpa. The kids have been getting a little restless at home this break, so this was the perfect outing!