Last night was Parent-Teacher Conferences at M&J's elementary school. One of my favorite things about going to these is that there is always a folder for each of my kids with their work in it. They draw pictures for me to see. They write reports. They get to show off what they have been working on in class. They get super-excited to show me, and I love to watch their faces light up as I "Oooh" and "Ahhh" over each page. :) Such confidence-building moments. I love that.
Here are some exhibits of their imaginations at work:
First Jake - (it says, "In the winter I like to sled"). Just in case you couldn't see that part. :)
I love this one because when asked what he was really good at AND what he wanted to do better at, he bubbled the same answer! :) Funny boy. He also told me that the picture of what he likes to do at recess is of him sliding. He was pretty stoked about this. :) It was really cute. :)
Next, Morgan - (She has a lot more because she is doing more independent work. Jake's folder mostly contained test results. I wish it would have had more of his work in it. :( )
A report on Polar Bears. She LOVES learning about animals. On one page she talks about something this animal does and then wrote, "Isn't that CRAZY!" Funny girl.
This next one is a book review on Charlotte's Web.
Lastly was this note to me, and a short story. Love this little writer. She is getting pretty good at expressing herself through writing. I love that! And I love that it gives me a window to what goes through that deep-thinking mind of hers. She is also a fantastic reader. Her teacher told me that she is reading on a 3rd grade level. Smart girl. She told her teacher that she just started reading Anne of Green Gables. It was so cute to see the connection she has with her. I am SOOO glad she was blessed to get Mrs. Bahr this year.
Before I end, I also wanted to post these of the girls. I purchased some animal fact flash cards at the Target Dollar-Spot, and these girls, particularly Abby LOVE them. They get them out daily...no lie. My kids are total animal lovers. But really, are there any kids that aren't? Well probably some, but not in this house. :)
I love that Claire is showing one to Daisy. So funny. :) I wonder what Daisy is thinking sometimes.
I just have to take a minute and say that I LOVE BLOGGING! I have been up and down with my commitment to this over the years, but I truly love it. Here is why:
1. I get such a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction every time I post. I feel like I am documenting my life and my family...something I don't have much of from my childhood. I always wonder what I was like as a kid. What made me tick. What inspired me. I can only assume that many of my traits I possess today were present as a youth, but I would love to have seen how those aspects of my personality, both good and bad, influenced me and my decisions. I feel like there is this long lost person from my past that I wish I could connect to. I wish I knew her now. I wish I could see how she made me who I am today. But I can't. My memories of growing up have all but faded. They are gone...or maybe just stuck in the recesses of my brain waiting to be pulled forward. I should really try to access them more. Maybe one day when my mind is not full with way too many other things. Ahhh...someday. :)
But I digress. I love that this blog gives me a way to journal. I have come to know more about me as I have done it. I also find joy in knowing that my kids will have their childhoods recorded...just in case their memories are as foggy as mine. :)
2. I also LOVE reading other mom's blogs. They truly inspire me. They give me ideas. They make me want to be better. They remind me of how much I love this job. They point out the good and I love that. I also love when they point out the bad. It gives me comfort. :) I love that I feel like I am apart of this society of mothers out there who are feeling and experiencing similar things. My favorite are the ones with great pictures too...I feel like I know these women and their neat families. So a big thank you to all you other blogging mama's out there.
I am so glad I found this outlet and that at least for now, it is increasing the quality of my life, and hopefully will show my kids one day that quality of theirs. :)
Happy blogging!
Do you ever have those moments in life where everything seems to become clear? Where you feel like you have been endowed with a moment of proper perspective? I feel like that this morning. Let me explain.
So this last Sunday was so great. Before I go on, I have to back up a bit. Back in April of last year, I received a new calling. I was called as the Primary President for our ward. I had not been in Primary since before my twins were born, and I had been secretly hoping that I would be kept out of Primary due to the fact that I was basically running a full-time "primary" in my home all week long. At that time, I felt like I needed that time during church to be with other adults. I needed to have adult conversations. I needed to be spiritually fed and uplifted. And that I was. Up until about a month before our ward split.
It was about that time that I started feeling a pull toward Primary. I wanted to be with the children again. I love little children, and for the first time since my girls came, I ached to be in the Primary.
The month went by, our ward split, and the Bishop called to see if he could come visit Trev and I. I thought I was being called as a primary teacher. Not so. Primary President. This was a bit of a shock to me since I had never been a President of anything before, nor had a I ever served in a Primary Presidency. I immediately felt inadequate and nervous, but excited for the new challenge and especially, the opportunity to be with the children again.
As you can probably imagine, adding this to being a wife and mother of 4 kids, there have been moments of feeling like I am just keeping my head above water. The callings of wife and mother are demanding in and of themselves. :) But I love EACH of my callings. I grow tremendously in each, and I truly believe this is what the Lord wants me to be doing at this point in my life. And even though it gets challenging, I kind of enjoy a challenge. :)
One thing I have struggled with lately however, is that my Sundays are typically crazy. They feel so fast paced, and often at the end of the day I feel wiped out - mentally, emotionally, and physically. This has been trying for me because of two main reasons. First, I am used to my Sundays being the day that I get to "rest" a bit. I get the rejuvenating time I need to prepare me for the remainder of the week and the demands it will most certainly bring. My Sundays would fill me up like oil in a lamp. Second, it was my time to spend relaxing with my family. Everyone is home. We get a chance to soak each other in. Since being called as the Primary President however, that has changed. I go, go, go, and then go some more. My energy is not replenished, it is zapped. :) My time with my family is often sparse with meetings and other concerns, but more importantly my mind is occupied with other things as well. They don't get me. In addition, Sacrament meeting with twin 3 year old girls has been comparable running a marathon each Sunday. Enough said.
But this Sunday was better. It was different. Not much changed about the circumstances, but my attitude changed. I felt calm. I spoke sweeter. I am getting better at handling the crisis each week brings. I am growing. The girls were even really well-behaved during Sacrament. I felt like I should pinch myself. Sharing time was tricky because my girls are now Sunbeams. It is a whole new experience to have them in there while I am in there. My secretary and I are in the same situation so that is comforting I guess. At least it is not JUST my girls having a hard time. This Sunday was no different. They still struggled...A LOT. But I felt different. I wasn't exasperated. I felt as though they were progressing. It felt good actually...although I am sure that is not what everyone else watching thought. :) But that doesn't matter.
So sufficeth it to say that Sunday was good. It felt rejuvenating. It felt calm. I needed that.
Now skip to today. I wanted to work out today. So I decided to take my girls to the Kids' Fit class at the gym while I went to a class myself. I was in there 5 minutes and they brought them to me. They had to go to the bathroom. No problem...quick trip, and I got back in right after the class started. I worked out for about 25 minutes and they the girls and their teacher were back. They were throwing fits, crying, wanted to be held, and simply wouldn't do what they were supposed to be doing to be in the class. The teacher told me that I should take them to the Day Care instead. She was nice about it, but in essence she felt they were not ready for the structure of the class yet. I left my class, and we drove home.
Here is where the perspective came. I realized my girls are still really little. They are also home bodies. They don't really want to be with a lot of other people. They are perfectly content playing with each other and being with those that they feel most comfortable around...their family. I was reminded by the Spirit that Morgan was this way as well at this age. It made leaving home a struggle. I am NOT a home body so this was tricky for me. But that gentle reminder also came with the reminder that it was only a phase. Morgan is now very social. She still prefers to stay around here, but she is much different than I thought she would be. She has lots of friends and is out-going, but she prefers her family. Is there anything wrong with that?? Heavens NO! That is what we as parents hope for right?? So , today it became clear to me that my girls are in the same phase. Hopefully that is all it is for them as well...just a phase.
The other thing that I have realized is that I am not in the phase of life that I can come and go at will. I am needed here. My kids need me. My husband needs me. And I need them. The bonds that are being built are far more important than a particular workout or anything else. I don't know if this is making any sense but it is clear in my mind. It is also what is keeping me from feeling disappointed or frustrated.
So I just want to thank my Father in Heaven for the perspective He shared with me today, and for the Spirit guiding me as a mother. I needed Sunday, and it got me ready for today.
One day 50 degrees and playing outside...the next day, 20 degrees and swimming at the local Rec Center. :) Such is winter weather in Utah. :)
The very morning after my last post, we woke up to this:
So we decided to do our typical Saturday house clean-up and then take the kids swimming for the afternoon. We were not the only ones with this idea. :) It was kind of busy, but not too bad and the kids loved it...how could you not when your Rec center looks like this:
We also ran into some friends from church...
Unfortunately, I couldn't adequately capture all the fun because I was a little afraid to use my camera too much around all this water. Plus the lighting wasn't so great. But here are just a couple I salvaged. :)
I know...yes that is all I got that turned out. Sad. :( But we had fun regardless. It was a really nice Saturday. Clean house ready for Sunday. Good family time...and Trev and I were even able to sneak away and have dinner out together. Perfect Saturday in my opinion. :)
So far, we have had a very mild winter. We keep getting "winter storm" scares, but then only a few flakes and nicer temperatures the next day. :) TRUST ME, I am not complaining...the last couple of winters have been long and tough for me. So far, I will take this winter and enjoy it as long as I can...I kind of hope it stays this way. :)
Today was one of those days where the sun is shining and the kids and I decided to bask in it. :)
I am not asking for a drought winter or anything, but forgive me if I don't complain about this type of weather. :)
This last weekend, Trev and I decided we needed some fun, quality, family time! It seems that in our stage of life when we are all home together often we find ourselves not soaking each other in, but working on things that need to get done. We like getting things done, but it was time to be with each other! So we rented a room at the Marriott downtown, and surprised the kids with a FNO!
It was pretty low-key, but they LOVED it! We basically just met up at the hotel on Friday night and swam, ate pizza by the pool, watched the skaters in Gallivan Square, played Trouble, and just hung out together. It was really great. Great memories!
Here we are hanging at the pool and snarfing down some DELISH Papa John's Pizza (my favorite):
The only thing not pictured here is the MANY moments of M&J being tossed into the pool by Trev, and the girls swimming confidently in their little life jackets. :) We constantly moved back and forth from the hot tub to the pool and back again. :) The water felt great and I loved having the chance to just sit and watch (and take pictures) of us enjoying each other's company. We really had a great time. I think we spent at least 2 hours there. :)
Then we headed back to the beautiful room, showered, and snuggled up in bed to watch some cartoons.
Here are the girls taking their first shower. :)
Every mom has to have these pictures...it's a must. :)
Here are the kids all snug in bed, and Trev getting some time to read the book he has been entrenched in, The Lone Survivor.
We also spent a little time playing games with the kids, and watching the beautiful lights and the Zaboni clean the ice skating rink below. M&J were enthralled. :)
I have to say, none of us had the best nights' sleep that night...it is so different sleeping all in the same room with your kids. They make noises and it wakes you up all night long. :)
Trev woke up early and went for a 7 mile run while the kids and I slept in. :) Then we got up, got dressed, headed to McDonald's for breakfast and playing in the Playplace...
After this, we had these grand plans to take the kids to Temple Square and walk around, but it was just simply too cold, and we were all a little tired. So we decided to scrap that, head home, and resume the normal weekend routine of jobs, sports, and home life. :) The kids didn't seem to mind. It really was a great little trip...key words: little, and GREAT!
