Pictures from the Partay!!

 

Well, before I post some pictures from Mercedes birthday, here are some older pictures from when the kids made homemade smoothie pops with Grandma. 

 

This fun, "simple" activity proved to require two adult hands.  It was super messy and sticky, but the kids really enjoyed the process. 

 

Lukey is especially into helping recently.  He loves visiting great grandparents, and he loves helping me unload the groceries.  He loves helping me cook and set the table.  And... he sticks around until the task is done.  If only I could harness this desire and save it up for a later date when his help is actually helpful.  :) Sometimes it is.  His great grandmas really enjoy his visits. 

 

Here is the finished product. 

 

Here is Hannah at about 13 months or so.

 

Now, on to the party.  Here is the cake I made.  Mercedes wanted a mermaid party.  So, we made a beach cake and a sandcastle cake.  We played Mermaid freeze dance, and they pinned a bow on Ariel.

 

This is Ariel.  I was pretty happy about this water color painting I did.  But, kids can be tough critics.

 

All of the kids love watching her open her presents.

 

Joshua particularly loved the butterfly net.  He thought he was hilarious when he caught himself.

 

Jon Mark took a picture of me sleeping the other night.  Yeah, I think I look ridiculous too.

Dumas, TX

This is Papa and Luke and Joshua on the Ferris Wheel (my favorite ride).

As I mentioned in a post earlier, the kids and I had the opportunity last week to visit great Mommom and Papa in TX. It was a nice visit.  The weather was much cooler than in AZ.  We weren't prepared, but luckily the local Walmart had some long sleeved shirts on sale.  While we were there, the kids learned the proper meaning of spoiled.  At the carnival, Papa and Mommom bought them funnel cake, corn dogs, curly fries, and lemonade.  Thank goodness that Joshua didn't throw up on the Tornado ride.  The throwing up came later.  All of the kids came down with the flu-like bug that resulted in lots of vomiting on the 14 hour drive back home, and one trip to the ER for Hannah (because she was the first to start throwing up, and coincidentally had bonked her head earlier which made me think she might have had a concussion.).  Anyway, while we were there, the kids got to go to the park, the carnival, a cool swimming pool/splash pad, to a Texas Roadhouse in Texas (which Joshua was stoked about), and many trips to the nursing home to visit Great Mommom and Papa.  They had fun seeing Papa Mac's hometown.  It was a nice trip.

The above picture is Joshua's robot army that he had fun playing with.  The yellow tops are girls and the blue tops are boys.  He played with these legos a lot!  

Luke fell asleep in this position one night which I thought was funny.  Joshua really wanted Papa to take a picture. The kids all missed Jon Mark.  At one point, it was like Luke was trying to remind himself that he had a dad.  He looked up from the ground and said, "Papa, do you know that I have a dad? His name is Jon Mark."

On our last day, just before we drove home, we went to the annual parade for Dogie Days. The kids got so much candy!! I'm glad we had this unique opportunity to be alone with Mommom and Papa for a week or so, and that we got to see the great grandparents again. :)

Updates, Updates, Updates

Jon Mark: He's not up to much of anything new.  He is rocking family law.  I always knew he would be great at being an attorney.  He's got the charisma and the intelligence... not to mention good looks and confidence.  Yup, he's pretty much the whole package and he's mine.  He's an awesome dad and husband.  I'm in Texas right now with his parents.  The kids and I are visiting Great Mommom and Papa, and we all miss Jon Mark, but we are glad for the opportunity to see relatives. 


Ralae: Well, I am rocking it at being an awesome mother (if I do say so for myself).  Of course, there are lots of areas for improvement, and sometimes motherhood kicks me in the pants and makes me feel insane, but overall, I rock it like a boss!  Haha! I am anxious to move into our own home, the countdown is on! Only 15 more days!! I am excited to open all of our stuff that has been stored in Lindsay's garage.  It will feel like Christmas in June when we are all set to make up our home!  :)


Joshua: He is all boy.  He loves soldiers and armies.  He plays with his little soldier set and sets out some "scouting" soldiers all over the house.  Sometimes he forgets where he places them.  He tells me that I need to keep an eye out because they are tricky, they are camouflaged. The other day, he drew a Nazi flag (don't worry, he wrote "bad guys" underneath the flag).  On the other side, he drew an American flag and wrote good guys.  He drew a large X over the Nazi flag.  He loves nonfiction stories, especially stories about WWII, hence, the Nazi's v. the Americans.  The other day, he had a tunnel over him and he was spinning around.  He told me that he was a tornado.  He said that I shouldn't worry because he was only hitting the government.  He said he was a natural disaster and couldn't control his path.  Oh, dear.  He is a sweet boy, too.  When he isn't playing "army" he is making his younger siblings laugh. He is a good example to them of choosing the right.  Grandma reads with him every morning and he is catching on so fast.  Spelling in front of him is a thing of the past.  Also, Mommom has taught him how to play checkers and he is pretty good at it.


Mercedes: She is missing her daddy like crazy right now, but she is still able to have some fun.  She loved playing monster with Papa Mac last night.  She loves puzzles and she is great at coloring and writing.  There really is a difference between boys and girls on that front.  The other day, Lukey was pitching a fit and Grandma said, "it's not like it is the end of the world".  Mercedes looked up from what she was doing and said, "yeah, Luke.  If it was the end of the world, then Gavin and Jesus would come back". She prays every night that Jesus will come back to earth soon so that she can see Him and meet Gavin.  She is a sweet heart.  She told me that she can't see the Holy Ghost but she can feel him in her heart and that He feels nice. She tries to do what is right, and she is very remorseful when she makes a mistake.  She is very introspective and can recognize when she has done something wrong.  When Mercedes apologizes, she means it very sincerely.  And, when she has been wronged, she will hug the offender and say that she forgives them, she does that very sincerely too. She is such a special little girl.


Luke: Lukey Bear is very loyal to me. He is very sensitive and needs lots of cuddles.  He is very independent and wants to do everything himself.  He is a big boy and he wants everyone to know it.  He has been very proud of the backpack that I packed for him for this trip.  He wears it everywhere.  He likes it because Joshua has a backpack and so now he feels big because he has one.  Yesterday, Mommom told him that if he didn't eat something then he would blow away.  He took it quite literally, so now when he doesn't eat his lunch and I ask him to come back and eat it, he looks up at me with a concerned expression and says, "so that I won't blow away?".  He has potty trained himself and does pretty good.  He needs reminders from time to time. He is such a cute little guy.  He makes my dad laugh because he can be very obstinate. 


Hannah: Hannah is so funny.  She is learning so much.  She tries so hard to talk and babbles all the time.  She makes voice inflections to match ours, and sometimes it sounds like she is talking.  Papa Mac was playing a game with her in the car on the way up here.  He would tickle her and make her laugh.  He tired out before she did.  He turned around and tried to take a nap.  She waited a few moments and then said, "Papa?" then she would let out a little giggle.  It was so cute. She walks like a pro and gets into everything. Also, every time I go to give her food, she folds her little arms first for prayer.  If I say that the food is hot, she starts blowing and blowing like she is going to hyperventilate.  She is a cuddly little banana and I adore her. 


Life is good for our young family.  We are counting our blessings and trying to live our lives for Heavenly Father and Jesus.  This world is confused and our country is on a slippery slope.  But, there is a lot of goodness in the world, too.  Our family is blessed, we feel so thankful to our Father in Heaven for all that we have. 

Joshua Graduation

 Joshua had a wonderful kindergarten teacher this year!  We loved her and so did he!  Sometimes he was very shy to tell her so, and sometimes it made for some really awkward and funny gift-giving scenes, but he did love her.

My mom and I went to see his little singing program and graduation.

Everytime he saw me video taping him, he'd hide from me.

Here is Mrs. Gowens.

Do you see the awkwardness?

Mercedes and Her Prayer

Mercedes says the sweetest prayers.  I love the language she uses, although Joshua recently corrected her and told her that she should say "I'm thankful..." in place of, "I love...".  For instance, Mercedes loves to tell Heavenly Father how much she loves the flowers and loves the rainbows.  I think it's cute.

Yesterday, when we were driving in the car, she asked me if she could pray.  I told her that she can pray anywhere she wants at anytime.  I turned down the radio and preceded to listen to such a thoughtful prayer.  It went something like this:

Dear Heavenly Father, I love the flowers and the trees.  I love my family (and names us one by one).  I love Jesus and I hope he comes again to earth soon, with Gavin, because I really want to see him, and I love him. I really want Jesus to heal my finger.  I have a hurt finger and I want it to get better.  I want it to look like Mommy's or Daddy's finger, or like Luke or Hannah's finger because they have good fingers.  I don't want it to be like Joshua's finger, because it is ugly (Joshua recently had an infection on his nail bed and it has caused his finger to get quite weird looking- temporarily). Please help my finger to get better.... Amen.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little.  It was cute.  After her prayer, she told me that she wanted to pray about her finger because Jesus can heal anybody.  He has the power to do that, so she wanted him to heal her finger.

**Update** Today, she showed me her finger (but, I am pretty sure it was a different one) and told me that it was all better.  Then, she went on to sing a song she made up about Jesus and his power to heal anything and anyone.  I love moments like that!

Mother's Day Thoughts

This Mother's Day was awesome!

Joshua made it very special to me when I went to his classroom for the annual Mother's Day Tea party.  I was a little late, and so I was one of the last people in the room.  Most of the other kids had found their moms and Joshua was scouring over the crowd with his eyes.  When he caught hold of me, he got this huge smile on his face and started waving me over to him.  He gave me some gifts he had made for me in his class: a book, and placemat, and a painted glass bowl.  He answered some questions about me which demonstrated that he knows me pretty well.  Some of the questions were:

1. When is your mom the prettiest?  A. Right after she showers.
2. What is your moms favorite drink? A. Water
3. How old is your mom? A. 31
4. What is your mom's favorite place to eat? A. Cafe Rio
5. What does your mom do with you? A. Takes me to the store... Home Depot... to get supplies for our new house.
6. What do you love most about your mom? A. That she's my mom.

He also was really excited the other morning when he came to me and told me that he had another surprise for me.  He had made me a crown out of an empty toilet paper roll and left it blank (so that I could decorate it).  He told me he thought of the idea while he was pooping.  I told him that he really made me feel special and he said, "that's because you are special". After that, I had to bend over and try to retrieve my heart that had just melted into one, big, gooey puddle.

The other day I had watched an episode of the Wonder Years which had left me crying.  It was about a young boy who is no longer in need of his mother's constant nurturing.  He was 13, and he didn't want to be babied.  Anyway, of course it was written with sappy music and old flashbacks to when he was little and his mom was the center of his universe--a golden recipe to reduce any mother to tears, but especially me, because I have a tender heart (or so I have been told).  Jon Mark heard my sniffling and turned around to find me wiping my eyes.  "You're crying?"  He asked me with a smile.  Of course I was crying.  Such an episode caused me to immediately see, in my mind's eye, all of my own children grown and leaving the nest. Suddenly, I went from being a young mother with four young kids, to an old lady whose arms were empty and heart was yearning to be that nurturer again.

Change is difficult for me.  It always has been.  It was hard for me when Vanessa left for college because I knew that our family was not going to be the same family that I had known and loved.  Eventually, she would come home with a man that she chose to marry and our family as I knew it, would change.  On the night before Vanessa was to leave, my mom had us sing the song, God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again, around the piano.  I cried that night, because change was thick upon the air.  Then, there was one summer evening when Lindsay and I sat out on some swings and watched the sunset for one last time, just as the two of us.  I had met Jon Mark and I was pretty sure that it would turn into something permanent, so as we sat on those swings, I knew that I was soon to be leaving behind those moments with my sister.  I would still have moments with her, but it wouldn't be the same.  It would be different.  Great, but different.  There have been lots of chapters in my life, and eventually they all close, sometimes opening up to new and even better chapters, yet turning that first page is always hard.

Someday, I will know for sure, 100% sure, that I am done having babies of my own.  My body will be my own again, not to be shared with my baby.  My body will someday get a full night's rest on a routine basis. Someday, I will be able to type posts like this one without a baby trying to type on the keyboard or a three year old crying at my feet.  I will feel sane and I will be on time.  I will wear black without the fear of wearing spit-up on my shoulder.  I will wear white pants without a second thought.  Someday my kids will learn how to brush their own teeth and fix their own hair.  I won't have to sing Rubber Ducky or Splish Splash while I attempt to help entertain a little one during bath time. Someday, and that day will come all too soon, my time will be my own.  My days will be quiet. My ears won't be ringing with a chorus of "MOM!". My back won't hurt from holding a baby on my hip. The house will stay clean. I will be able to use the bathroom without some child supervising my every move.  I won't have to hide behind the laundry room door to sneak a piece of candy. And, someday, I will miss it.  All of it.  Because motherhood, is the best.

Motherhood means that I get to practice over and over again self-sacrifice and patience.  Motherhood is challenging and it is mundane. It means seeing the best in someone little, when all others can see is a tantrum throwing mess in the grocery isle. Motherhood is laughing until I cry, and crying until I laugh. It is a chubby fist full of hair and an open mouth, snotty kiss. It's chocolate drool, and a broken record. It's high-pitched voices singing along with me. It's bright eyes, and spontaneous hugs. Motherhood is hand prints on the glass door that I had just gotten through cleaning. It's tucking in, and then tucking in all over again because someone forgot that last cup of water--again.  It's telling them "no" and bracing myself for the inevitable tears that follow.  It's giving lots of make-me-better kisses. Motherhood is encouraging their best one more time while resisting the urge to just do it for them.  It's about lullabies and lay-by's. It's about empathy and tears. Motherhood is singing about Jesus. Motherhood is insanity cloaked in wisdom.  Motherhood is the best.

So, Joshua, Mercedes, Luke, and Hannah, thank you for making me a mom. Wearing white pants in so over-rated anyway :)

Jon Mark, thank you for supporting me as I stay home with our children. You are everything to me, and my life is so blessed by you.  You are such a wonderful husband and father.  You are my perfect match. I know that you hate public announcements of love and affection.  But, no one really reads this blog anyway, so it's not really a public announcement. I love you!!    

Mother's Day BYU Video

Pregnant Power

BYU TV has done a comedy sketch video about the power that pregnant ladies have.  I thought it was funny, so I had to share with all of those pregnant ladies out there.

HAHA!!