My Artist

Sara is such a little artist. Seriously, she has so much creativity and imagination at such a young age. It sometimes is a frustration for me, because she loves to create, but hates to clean up the mess it makes. But I always love seeing what she creates!

The owl (above) was done with dry erase markers.  (Below) Sara used her siblings as models for her painting of the play house. 

Date with Savannah

A week into school starting, I noticed that Aaron needed new shoes.  We had bought him some toward the end of last school year, and he told me they were still good.  But upon further examination of them, I found holes in the toes, and told him he needed new ones.  Aaron already had plans to go to his friend Quinn's baptism (Randy's grandson).

So Savannah got to be my shopping companion for picking out shoes for Aaron.  After we bought the shoes, we drove over to the new Village in Meridian.  It's a big outdoor shopping mall and has some really fun things to see.  We watched the dancing waters of the fountains and admired the huge hanging baskets of flowers.  I so rarely get alone time with Savannah, so this was a real treat.  She is such a great girl, and I love that I get to be her mom!

Thyroid

I hate having a bad thyroid.  Most people don't realize how life changing it is when your thyroid isn't functioning.  I spent all winter feeling horrible, and finally got into a doctor that was willing to adjust my medicine up.  I spent three months on that higher dose, and I felt wonderful.  But when I went in to have my levels checked, she was worried I was a little high, so she backed off to a smaller dose and told me to come back in 3 months to check my levels.  I made it two months, before I couldn't go on.  The first symptom I noticed creep back was "brain fog".  That's the only way I can describe it.  I can't think straight; I can't think of words when I talk; I'm forgetful; I'm just plain spacey.  Next the weight started to become a struggle again.  Weight is always a struggle with me, but when my thyroid is off, no matter what I do I gain weight.  I was back to taking naps in the day.  And the last straw was my hair started falling out again.  I couldn't wait another month, so I called and moved up my appointment.  They got me in that afternoon, and I walked out of her office with the higher dose of medicine.  I'm so thankful for a doctor that listens to me, and not just the numbers on the tests.  She said some people don't fit the normal test range, that everybody needs to find where they feel best.  She said as long as I don't have any hyperactive symptoms (high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, etc), she would let me be on the higher dose because that is where I feel best.  And now I'm back to feeling good again.  I really am so thankful for modern medicine!

Sleeping

Seriously, I love it when this kid goes and goes until he just drops.

Walks

I don't love having my five older kids gone all day for school.  But, one nice thing is that I've only got two kids at home, so they fit into the double stroller.  Every morning, after we get the older kids off to school, Owen and Kate come on a walk with me.  We usually make it 2 or 3 miles before they've had enough of the stroller.  And half way into it, Owen always insists we stop and visit the horses (and climb the tree).  The first few times I was slightly annoyed that my exercise was being interrupted. But now it's my favorite part of our walk. It's the perfect reminder that I don't always need to be rushing about. Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy. Life is to be enjoyed!

 

  

We've never been a single stroller family. We've always needed a double. I'm convinced all my kids are better friends because they've grown up sitting next to each other in a stroller.  On our walks, Kate lays on Owen, Owen hugs Kate, they share sippy cups and toys, Owen consoles Kate when she gets upset, one will start laughing and the other will join them in hysterics.  They are best friends when they are sitting next to each other in this stroller.  And I really love that!

Volleyball

Savannah tried out for the 7th grade volleyball team this year.  She was really hesitant to try out, because she knew they would have to cut a bunch of girls.  But I talked her into trying, and I'm so proud of her for doing it.  She got a week of practice in the week before school started, before they made the cuts.  Sadly, she didn't make it.  But she decided that she really likes volleyball and wants to get better.  So we signed her up for volleyball through the YMCA.  She practices once a week, and has games once a week.  I think she's really enjoying playing, and I'm loving getting to watch her.

Braces

On September 2nd, Savannah got her braces off!  She was lucky and only had to wear them 16 months.  Here she is the day she got them on (May 2013).

And here she is the day she got them off.  She has grown up so much in the last 16 months!  And now she has beautiful straight teeth!

 

I think Savannah loves seeing her straight teeth just as much as I do.  I'm finding an aweful lot of selfies on my phone these days, flashing that beautiful smile. 

One thing I want to mention about the pictures above.  There is a growing trend among girls her age to make faces in their pictures - duck face, pouty lips, etc.  One night Scott and I had gone out grocery shopping, and returned home to find selfies of Savannah and our neighbor, with their tongues out posing rock style for the camera.  I sat Savannah down and told her that pictures like those were not appropriate.  I told her they were not representative of the Daughter of God that she is.  I told her that with social media now, once a picture is put out there, there is no taking it back.  I explained that her pictures needed to portray the type of person she wanted others to think she is, they need to be her "best self".  And since then she has done awesome with taking pictures.  Cocking an eyebrow is about as crazy as she gets.  I appreciate that about her.  I love that at the age of 12, she understands that "Standing in Holy Places" has such a broad meaning, including the types of pictures you take.  She truly is beautiful both inside and out!

Kate

This little girl is such a girlie girl! She loves dressing up in pretties. And her sisters love helping her dress up (from sticker earrings, to fun outfits). After my three little boys, it's just fun having a girl again!

Pictures

Last night, I sat on the edge of Nate's bed and read him and Aaron a bedtime story.  As I walked out of their room, I noticed the screen saver on the computer scrolling through pictures, and I sat down to watch.

I watched for 20 minutes as the images of my life flashed on the screen before me.  Pictures of babies being born, grandparents who are gone, family vacations, holidays, birthdays, family pictures, first days of school, lost teeth, baptisms, blessings, so many memories in the pictures.

As I watched, I found myself wishing I could rewind all those years and live them again.  They have truly been wonderful.  I wish I could go back to when my family was small, and I would focus more on the joy instead of the work.  It seems like yesterday that we were just starting out with one or two kids.

I watched pictures of squishy little babies, and my heart ached.  That stage of life is passing, and I wish more than anything that I could just have babies forever.

I watched the pictures.  They are the highlights, condensing the last 13 years down into a matter of minutes.  It went by that fast.  All those years.  They flew by.  I watched and realized that there are so many things that I thought mattered, that really didn't.  The things that mattered were those little faces, staring at me through the screen. 

I realized that Sara had bangs till she was 3 or 4, and she looked adorable, so I shouldn't worry about trying to grow Kate's out already.

I remembered what an adorable little boy Josh was.  And remembered that he had a sweetness that matched his cuteness.

I remembered how hard Aaron was when he was younger, and realized that we have made so much progress over the last three years with therapy and understanding his diagnosis.  Those years were so very hard, and I wish I could have seen that things would turn out ok, for both Aaron and for me.

I remembered that once upon a time, Savannah was little and carefree.

I looked at pictures of me through the years.  Most of my life I have not felt pretty and wished I could be different.  I looked at pictures of me and realized that my favorite pictures of me were the ones where I was surrounded by my kids.  My kids make me happy, and that makes motherhood beautiful. 

  
I remembered how this little boy could take my breath away with his sweet little grin.

I remembered that Nate was just a little thing when I sent him off to his first year of preschool.  I'm glad I'm waiting with Owen, and have him home with me still.

I remembered how up until this moment, we thought these 6 kids were all we needed. 

And I felt such overwhelming joy that we decided we needed to bring our little Kate into this world.

And I was reminded how lucky I have been to have this man by my side through it all.