Happy Mother’s Day!

I got up early and got the little boys ready for church. They looked super cute, all in handsome hand-me-down outfits from our sweet neighbor. I was ready to buy new church clothes for all the boys until this kind friend passed along so many nice dress clothes. What a blessing!

It’s been a long running joke that someone always throws up on Mother’s Day! Most years find me cleaning up barf at some point. Last night I joked with Rick that I was just waiting for someone to throw up… And sure enough, little Drew did this morning, right as we were leaving for church.

I had a few other boys not feeling well so I ended up keeping four little ones home from church. Drew threw up several more times today, poor guy.

When Rick and the other kids got home from church, he sent me straight to bed. I spent the entire afternoon resting and relaxing. The kids gave me chocolates and little cards.

I’m grateful that Rick can cook!! He’s amazing, and he made the most delicious Mother’s Day dinner. I loved it!!!

Jacob wasn’t as impressed. He poked at his stuffed chicken and groaned, “Ew! There’s yucky poop in this!”

I spent all afternoon relaxing and resting. It was wonderful. Rick gave me a very sweet blessing in the evening. I loved it!

Other than feeling bad for my sick Drew, it was the perfect Mother’s Day!!

Drew has continued to throw up all day today, poor guy. I think/hope that he’s finally starting to feel better. He sure is cute!!

Little Blessings

The boys’ jeans and church pants are hammered! I’ve never seen pants get so ragged, but I guess that’s what happens when clothing goes through five active boys!

I have known that I needed to throw out about 15 pairs of jeans and some dress pants that were all really too ratty for the boys to wear. But I was nervous because I hate to get rid of something when I don’t know when or how I’ll be able to replace it… Not that pants are expensive, but they are when that many pairs are needed all at once!

Today, a sweet neighbor gave me several bags of clothes, mostly jeans and dress clothes! And all of it is darling and in great shape! There were also several pairs of shoes and sandals, some cute shirts, and some pajamas that the boys loved.

This happened last week too. Joshua needed summer shorts and work out shorts to wrestle in. And guess what we were given? About 20 pairs of shorts, summer shorts and ones that he can exercise in too!

And my sweet sisters gave me lots of hand-me-downs this weekend- clothes for my little boys and a much-needed double stroller from one, and a bunch of cute shirts for ME to wear from another!

I’m thankful that Heavenly Father is aware of even our smallest needs!

Baby Blessings

We had two more baby blessings this weekend, for Bentley and August. We boarded Ruby and took Sophie along.

We left much later than planned of course and didn’t make it to Elaine’s until 1am Saturday. The boys all fell right to sleep at Elaine’s, but three giggly girls stayed up most of the night I think! They were still talking when I went to bed at 2am and then were awake when I got up at 7am.

The kids played in morning and then we headed to Mom and Dad’s. We met the family at the Discovery Center. The kids had a blast with cousins and I loved my spiffy new stroller from Elaine!

We had a darling cousin birthday party next. The kids all opened presents, and blew out individual candles on their cupcakes. It was so cute to see all those kids around the table celebrating all their birthdays at the same time!

We all went to the park for games and pizza next. The weather was nice (until the end) and we had lots of fun together.

Sunday was busy. We got everyone dressed and we were out the door by 8am. (I did lots of prep work the night before and that really helped!)

We went to Bentley’s blessing first. I cried because I was touched and felt the spirit. Then we went to a luncheon at Jonny and Michelle’s. Afterwards we drove downtown to August’s blessing and another luncheon. Both boys were so handsome and it was wonderful to be there!

We got a bit stranded on the drive home, but thanks to Rick’s handiwork and and a good spare tire, we were on the road again after a few hours.

We stopped at Grandma’s house on the way home. The kids loved playing with cousins! We left really late and didn’t get home until 2am, but I think it was worth it.

I spent all day unpacking, washing clothes, and sorting hand me downs.

This is Awesome!

I have so many thoughts that I want to write down. I just keep thinking about every single precious moment that I have with these kids, how it all goes so fast, how babies grow up so quickly that it takes my breath away. They’re only mine for a short time and I want to give them so much, to pour so much into them, so that when they leave me they are ready to stand. I’m not really good at much, but this I want to do right.

I want them to have unwavering, personal, powerful testimonies of their Savior Jesus Christ, and of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness for His children. I want them to find beauty, to be thankful, to serve others. I want them to know that they are SO loved, and I want them to know it SO strongly that they never, ever forget it.

It’s hard in the chaos of a crazy day, when kids are whining and little ones are getting into mischief and there are so many individual needs to address and everything seems to be falling apart, to remember that every single moment counts. I only have one chance to raise my babies.

At this point my life is hectic. Each day is busy. I’m a slave to the laundry, I never sleep enough, my house is frequently a wreck, my carpet is totally ruined, and I never really have time to myself (except right now, cause Rick is awesome and he’s doing my evening dishes for me!)

But I look at all of that, and at the eight kids that make life so busy, and I still find myself thinking, “THIS IS AWESOME!”

There is nothing that I would rather do, no better way to spend my days. This is where I want to be, with my messy house and my busy days and my sleepless nights and with eight amazing, unique, incredible children (and a sweetheart husband too).

When this stage of life is over, and my babies are grown, and my house is way too easy to clean, I really do hope that I got this Mommy thing right.

Double Stroller and Blessings

When I was pregnant with Joshua we bought a double stroller. I have put so many miles on that thing over the last ten years!

It was that stroller that gave me freedom when I had two babies and no car. We went on walks every day, and to the park each afternoon. Every other week I’d push that stroller, loaded with babies and dirty laundry, to the laundry mat. The nearest store was several miles away and we would walk there when I really needed something. Like I said, that stroller meant freedom!

More babies came. I loaded that stroller down. I often piled up to four kids into it. Kids and stroller probably weighed over 200 pounds.

I took that thing every where, to the zoo, the pumpkin patch, the mall, the lake, to football games and baseball games and track meets. It was always so full of kids and gear.

Recently, this stroller has started to show signs of extreme wear. Lately I’ve even been embarrassed to take it anywhere. I’ve been coping by carrying Allie in her infant carseat while pushing Drew in an umbrella stroller. It hasn’t been a fun way to travel. I’ve been trying to save for a second-hand stroller, but the money is always needed in other places.

We have a dumpster on our street this week, that we all helped pay for. Last night, as we were tossing junk into the dumpster, we decided to throw out my old stroller. The truth is, it’s in such bad shape that I really can’t use it anymore. But I still got choked up as I watched Rick toss it in. It was silly. But that stroller had been an enormous part of my eleven years as a mom! It had been through ten years, eight kids, and who knows how many miles! I didn’t know when we’d be able to get a double stroller to replace it and I was sad about that too.

But Heavenly Father knows our needs, even the ones that aren’t super important.

Today my sister texted me a picture of her double stroller and asked if I wanted it. I got emotional again, this time because I was so happy! Now I can enjoy freedom and outings with my little ones again. I can load it up for football, swimming, and track, and take the kids to the zoo and the pumpkin patch. I am so, so excited!!

I’m thankful for my very generous and thoughtful sister! Thanks, Elaine!! I’m thankful for my Heavenly Father and that He cares about every one of our needs! What a huge blessing!!!

Wrestling Up and the Weekend

Grandpa’s grave was dedicated on Saturday. It was a sweet, simple, rainy, beautiful occasion. I love my Grandpa and I feel his calm, strong presence of time to time. Someday I’d love to name a son after him.

Because of the service in the morning, Josh skipped his morning tournament. He still wanted to wrestle (he’s trying for 100 Win Club this year even after being sick for so long). The older boys were wrestling in the afternoon so Josh wrestled up in the 12-year-old division.

We weren’t sure how things would go because he was 1-2 years younger than the other boys and because we knew the boys that he’d have to wrestle. There were four kids in his bracket that all could win freestyle state this year, and two who were Folkstyle state champs as well (all competing in a division above Josh.) Josh wrestled so well! I was impressed and proud! He took first place.

On Saturday night we had pizza with Nammy and Papa, went out for ice cream together, and spent the evening playing games. We had fun and it was so nice to spend time together!

On Sunday we attended Mallory’s baby blessing. She was so darling and sweet in her little white dress, and the three littlest cousins (all born within nine days of each other) were so cute. We ate yummy food, let the cousins play, and talked.

I’m excited for another week! I’m looking forward to another week of school, we get to swim tomorrow, we’ll have our first full week of track practice, it’s parent night at cheer, and the freestyle/Greco state championships are this weekend.

Slump

Ah, yes, we must be four weeks from the end of the semester! I’m falling down into that slump that I always seem to feel at the end of a busy semester. I never feel this way at the end of the summer, probably because I keep the schedule light and easy, but every fall and every spring, when our workload is heavy and our days are long, I just hit a wall with about four weeks left to go.

It’s frustrating, honestly, because it makes me feel so inadequate. We always just muddle through those last few weeks, regroup over the break between semesters, and then come back strong when the next semester starts. So I guess I’m in the “final four weeks slump” now…

I cannot seem to catch up on housework either. Dishes and laundry and clutter pile up in a half day if I don’t stay on top of things, so I feel like I’m constantly cleaning just to maintain and I can’t ever get ahead. There’s simply too much to do, only two hands, and never enough time. Add to that, several little boys who love mud, another who tries to dump out everything he sees, and a puppy who loves the garbage can…

I’m also stressed over gymnastics. We’re making the enormous decision to move gyms and it’s complete agony for me. Apparently, I can easily make the life-changing decision to have another baby, but deciding to switch gyms stresses me to the max and makes me toss and turn at night. It would be laughable, if it weren’t so utterly nerve-wracking.

Oh brother.

I was reading an online forum today and someone asked the question, “What did you want to be when you were five and would your five-year-old self be happy with what you’re doing now?”

I can honestly say that I have wanted a large family for as long as I can remember. And amid all the chaos and the mud and the occasional stress, I really am doing everything I always hoped I’d do. My five-year-old self would be thrilled with what I’m doing now, and so would my ten-year-old self and my 18-year-old self… Though they’d probably all be shocked by how much work it actually is!

So, life is GOOD. How could it not be?

These little fellas make me smile!

Spring Break

I love Spring Break!

We started the week off with Joshua’s birthday on Monday. What fun! We have two ten-year-olds now.

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday gutting closets and bedrooms while the big kids played outside in the beautiful sunshine and the little ones trashed the house. I got a lot done, projects that have been neglected for far too long.

We tried to visit the zoo on Thursday, but it was so crowded that we went to a big park downtown instead. We had a good time and enjoyed the sunshine.

Friday was a rainy day so we stayed in our pajamas until lunch (one of my favorite parts of the week!) and then spent the afternoon cleaning together.

Friday night and Saturday morning, the boys had a wrestling tournament. Asher and Braden both wrestled up a weight division because there was no one their size. Ash took 4th in a tough bracket. Bray didn’t place, but he did wrestle well and had some good matches. Josh took 1st in all three styles. He ran a 9-minute mile when he got home; it’s great to see his energy and endurance returning!

While the boys wrestled, I watched the morning session of General Conference and we all watched the afternoon session together.

Brenna went to open gym between sessions, and I got all the DI stuff dropped off. After the second session, I took the girls shopping for new swimming suits. They certainly didn’t make it easy to resist all those darling baby girl summer clothes! Allie does need them, but I’m holding off until summer is closer and this first wave of spring/summer birthdays is over.

Sunday was both relaxing and chaotic all at once- relaxing as we snuggled up to watch Conference and chaotic because we constantly had to stop watching to clean up a disaster, change a diaper, deal with a minor injury, or get a baby boy out of someplace he shouldn’t have been. I’ll be glad when I can watch Conference in peace someday, but I’ll also miss my crazy little guys that distract me from it right now.

And now Spring Break is over! I am left feeling like I didn’t accomplished nearly enough, feeling like I need another week to recover from the week I took “off.”

We swam today, worked on projects, got Brenna to a gymnastics evaluation and then to gymnastics practice, got the boys to wrestling, did the grocery shopping… And we never did get around to school…

As much as I want another week off to catch up on chores, we will start school again tomorrow. We have just a month left before the semester ends, and then a one week break before we’ll start our summer schedule. Summer will be more relaxed- a ten week term, math, writing, history… and lots of lesson planning for next fall.

Even after all these years that have passed so fast, I’m still not used to the how swiftly time passes by. My ten-month-old should still be a newborn… My almost eleven-year-old should still be a preschooler… At the very least, it should still be spring break…

Easter Weekend

Brenna has been asking to babysit for years. I’d always tell her that she wasn’t old enough and her immediate response was always to ask when she would be ready. I’d tell her the same thing every time, which was basically “when you’re ready, I think I’ll know.”

Suddenly my almost 11-year-old seems ready! So we started experimenting. She babysat so I could take a long nap on a Saturday afternoon. I left her in charge when I went next door to help a neighbor. I left a few kids with her while I ran a thirty minute errand. Each time she did well.

On Saturday morning, I left her with Maddie, Jake, and Drew while the rest of us went to the boys’ tournament. She did so well! I was very proud of her and very thankful for her help.

The boys wrestled well. Ash wrestled up a weight class because there was no one his size. He ended up taking 2nd, in spite of his small size. Braden worked hard, but lost several matches and took 5th.

Joshua wrestled in all three styles. His stamina has been an issue during his recovery from gastroparesis. We talked with him about it and this time he was able to push through that wall that he often hits when he gets tired. This was a local event, but Joshua actually wrestled kids from four other states, including some state champs. (I think kids were visiting family for the holiday.) Josh took 1st in all three styles.

After the tournament, we went to the park for a picnic lunch. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time at the park.

When we got home we found that the Easter Bunny had stopped by. There was a giant basket of treats and toys, and a bunch of eggs hidden in the back yard.

For scripture study in the evening, we talked about the Atonement, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Last week we started memorizing The Living Christ so we talked more about that as well. I think it will be nice to sit and talk about our Savior each day as we work on memorizing The Living Christ together.

The kids looked cute in their Easter clothes today, with the boys in blue and yellow and the girls in pink and green. Rick also made a delicious baked blueberry French toast for lunch after church. It was the best!

I am not full of beautiful words and profound statements on this Easter Sunday. But I can say with certainty that our Savior LIVES, that He died for us, and that He loves us more than when can possibly comprehend. I am thankful for His infinite, atoning sacrifice.

Spring Evening

The markee at the golf course said it was 80 degrees when I dropped Josh off at wrestling practice this afternoon. It made me wonder when I should get all the summer clothes out of the garage. The calendar tells me to wait another month or two, but the weather tells me to do it now.

I picked Maddie up from cheer tonight. She was a little sad because all the teams will be changing soon now that the season is over. Her friends on her current team will all be split between three different teams next year because some will stay with the current team while others will move up to one of two teams depending on skill level. She was also worried about her own skill level and performance.

We talked on the drive home and I spontaneously stopped at our favorite ice cream place. We shared a cookie ice cream sundae, had a mini water fight in the grass outside, and headed home feeling much better. I loved that extra half hour together and I loved putting a big smile back on my girl’s face.

At home, Josh was out playing basketball in the culd-a-sac with all his neighborhood friends. Maddie hopped out of the car to go find her friends at the park across the street. Rick and I rounded up the little guys and we went outside to let them play as well.

The ice cream man came by and everyone ran for money. We bought ice cream cones for all the kids, plus a few friends who didn’t have money.

Asher was such a cute sight, dressed in his tiger costume and holding an old bread bag filled with coins. The ice cream man thought he was a girl cause all he could see we’re his cute little nose and lips and his big blue eyes peaking out of his big tiger hood.

We played until dark. I missed Brenna off at gym and felt thankful for warmer days and comfortable evenings.