Snow Day

The best news sometimes comes at 5am and tells Dad he has a snow day at work. It only gets better by the 6am call that says school is canceled too. Everyone got an extra free day today and we were so excited about it. The kids got up and happily “Mom clean Monday”-ed (clean to moms standards) their rooms so they could be free the rest of the day.

We decided to take advantage of the free time we had and hit up the movie. We were the only ones there for awhile, so the kids ran out the wiggles and I snapped some pictures. Sadly,  more people trickled in as the movie got started. It was a fun day and I enjoyed our surprise day off. 

Birthday Boys

We kicked off the first birthdays of the year with a bang. Well at least for Beckett. Tayden is still waiting for his.

BECKETT

My boy, B, turned nine this year. It’s not hard to believe since I have felt like he’s been nine for a couple of months. For his birthday he wanted to go out to lunch and have a party with some friends. When I picked him up from school to go to lunch, he noticed Kyle was missing and asked where he was. I told him it was just a special lunch for him and I and he could not have been more thrilled. I let him pick where we ate and told him nothing was out of the question as long as we had time for it. All the boy wanted was a Baconater from Wendys. We normally only do cheeseburgers, or sometimes a regular bacon burger, so the chance to have his pick of the menu was exciting. And wouldn’t you know he polished off the whole thing along with some fries and a drink. I love soaking up all this goodness and funny personality. I pray that he never outgrows loving on my in public. We held hands, sat by each other and chatted the whole hour long. I had a hard time wanting to take him back to school. 

The party was easy since he planned everything he wanted to do. My job was informing the moms and picking up prizes. Easy Peasy. The boys had a blast playing, ‘Left Center Right” and having a lego building competition. Beckett was bummed we didn’t get to the nerf gun dual, but was happy with everything else. It’s fun watching him interact with his friends. I love that he is the exact same person at home, at school, with his friends, or anywhere else. What you see is what you get with Beckett. 

I love Beckett to high heaven. I love his self confidence and his self awareness. He is who he is and loves himself for it. He never gets down on himself or beats himself up. He has always danced to the beat of his own drum, and I hope he always has the courage to do so. Beckett loves sports and is turning out to be quite the little basketball player. He can’t wait for tackle football to start this year and has wanted to try wrestling for sometime. Beckett is smart. Math especially comes easy. He tests near the 90% for all third graders. Although he still has temper issues, he learning more and more how to deal with them. If he is in the mood, he is the best big brother. Cache and Kyle love playing with him because he’ll play with the toys they want to play with. Building and creating are still among his favorite hobbies. I love finding his creations and ideas around the house. Beckett is such a blessing and I have learned so much from him. If you are loved by Beckett, then you are loved fiercely. And that’s a blessing.

TAYDEN

Taydens day was pretty low key. Although I only have been throwing parties every other year, this year I decided to do one for both of them. Jodie and I were talking about how many years we have left of throwing parties where our kids actually want us to be there. I figured since I probably don’t have many left with Tayden, I am going to take every chance I can. So he gets a party too. Although, we are waiting until next weekend to do it. He spent his day playing his basketball game, hanging out with friends and gaming. The perfect day for an ELEVEN year old. How on earth did that happen. Eleven sounds so old, but I know twelve will be worse. 

His dinner wish was mini pigs in a blanket and root beer floats (he’s waiting for his cake until his party). I mean, how easy does that get. He is an easy kid to please. Although, I did feel bad that we didn’t have anything to put a candle in as we sang happy birthday to him, so we used a lighter instead. He thought it was pretty funny and it made me grateful that we find joy in the little things in life. I love having such a low key family!

Tayden is one of a kind. He is the best oldest child. However, he is perfecting the art of teasing and that’s driving everyone a little crazy. He remains my right hand man and helps me out whenever I need it. Packing lunches, shoveling the walks, babysitting, calming down a little brother, and on and on. I love how Tayden is open to trying new things. He hasn’t wanted to play basketball (outside of shooting hoops in the driveway) for years, but his year he was invited to play on a team and he gave it a go. He has been absolutely loving it.

Tayden is still obsessed with football. He watches every game, draws up plays, colors pictures. He loves it all. School doesn’t come as easy for Tayden.  Mostly because getting out to the field at recess is always on his mind. But, he works hard for school. He puts in the extra hours at Tuesday tutoring, brings home work that is completed but he wants to go over and gets up early to finish assignments. I am so proud of this boys work ethic.He is incredibly social and his friends love to be around him. He makes good choices and continues to be on the hope squad as an outlet for kids to turn to. He is just the best and I feel so lucky to be his mom. 

I love this time of year when I get to celebrate this two boys. They are as much the same as they are different, but they have always been the best buddies. They love and trust each other and have a great relationship. It’s not void of arguments and the occasional fist fight, but its full of love!

When did I become?

When did I become the older mom? The mom at the library with only one kid while my others are in school. I watched the young moms with 2-3 little kids, pushing strollers, carrying car seats, cleaning up snacks, chasing fast feet, bending over pregnant bellies and my heart broke a little bit. I am no longer one of them. Its funny how life hits you when you least expect it. I'm the mom I used to crave and worship. The mom that looks like she knows what shes doing because she has years of experience. The mom that has one tiny hand to hold and no seat belts to fasten. The mom that is actually dying inside because she misses those sweet chaotic moments.

Don't get me wrong. I love this stage of life. I love it so much. There is so much goodness that comes with having kids that are a little bit older. And what I have learned is that this will fade quickly too and soon enough, I will be that mom watching her teenager drive away on his first date. I'll be the mom that's helping with school projects and worrying about the influence of their friends. So for now, I will enjoy this second stage of motherhood.

I am learning one thing about motherhood. No matter the stage, its hard. It is not without grief and trials. It requires patience, love, patience, humility, patience, strength, patience, endurance. Last week we had four snow days. Cache had an abscessed tooth, Kyle contracted strep again and Tayden was diagnosed with Influenza B. It was an awful week. I complained to my friends only to hear about their weeks.

Jodie had to take her son, Owen, to get his blood drawn. He is horrible scared of needles and it took five people to help with the draw. In the midst of his screaming and wailing his sweet older sister, Hallie, passed out from the blood. So there Jodie was, trying to console and upset child and tend to an unconscious child, all while trying to keep herself together.

Melissa, got in a hit and run accident.

Natalee endured a flu diagnosis for her son along with another positive strep test.

Hillary is trying to navigate five kids in different sports and activities all while supporting her husband who was just called to be the second counselor in the stake presidency.

Kristin is battling for custody of her children.

Tiffany is struggling with the guilt of being a single mom.

The point is this, motherhood is hard. Everyone has their own battle they are fighting. And as mothers, we are bound together by that struggle. No matter our current stage, there is room for kindness and support. A gentle smile at the mom struggling in the grocery store line. A friendly nod at the mom grocery shopping with her teenage sons. A lending hand, because heaven knows we could all use an extra.

Motherhood, in all stages, is good. And the more we learn to embrace it, the better it will become. 

Abscess

Cache had been complaining about a tooth ache for a day or two. When he woke up one morning, his cheek was swollen and his tooth was abscessed. We had to wait a day to get it pulled, but when it came time he handled it like a champ. I told him he could ask the dentist anything he was worried about and he chose to ask how long he was a dentist and if he’d get distracted. After a satisfactory answer about his credentials, he was ready to get the tooth pulled. 

He cried on the way home, but got over it pretty quickly. He’s vowed to never miss a night brushing his teeth ever again! 

Dog show

Just Luna and Dad watching the dog show. 

D.A.R.E

Tayden graduated the D.A.R.E program this week. It’s been a great opportunity for him to learn about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and peer pressure. He enjoyed his time with the police officer who taught the class and has a new respect for them. The graduation itself was painful. Long, kind of boring and cheesy as ever, but the kids loved it and I’m glad they do something special for the kids.

Tayden and his good buddy, Austin Snarr. 

2020

And just like that we enter into a new year. A new decade! Its amazing to look back on the past ten years and see how our life has changed. We have moved four different times between two states. Scotts changed jobs three times. We've had three different schools and more wards than I can count...but I'm thinking five or six? We added three boys to our family and another dog. We bought property in Ashton. But my favorite thing about the past ten years in how we've settled into a great life that we love. We're coming up on five years in the same home, longer than anywhere we've ever been. Our kids are grounded in a great school and neighborhood with friends everywhere. We know our town and see friends at the store. Life is constant and familiar and we love it so much.

We rang in the new year the best way we know how, with our friends. We played games, watched football, ate good food and stayed out entirely too late. A perfect evening.

Calyn Peterson and her daughter Laynie, Jodie Hansen, Stacey Packard, Heather Petrus with her daughter Leah and Kristie Denning. 

This year we have decided on some family goals. The church has changed the youth programs and are implementing a new individual goal based program. Our kids aren't quite old enough to be doing it on their own, so we decided as a family what we wanted to work on. We made a weekly chart to help us study, "Come, Follow Me" and then decided on outdoor skills we want to learn to help keep us safe in Ashton. Once we learn the outdoor skills, we will decide on new family goals. I'm excited to have family goals and I'm crossing my fingers we can stick with it.

2019 was so good to our family and I'm looking forward to 2020. I love the renewal that a new year brings. I love fresh starts, new color coded planners and the chance to reevaluate life. I'm feeling so blessed today! Happy New Year!!!