Because of Him

This evening I was touched by the thoughtfulness of Z. He and Nev were grouped in age together at a local Easter Egg Hunt (dash) and I was watching from a distance. As it started Nev had her basket on her head as a hat. I figured that was going to be a problem but had no way to do anything about it since we were blocked by a bunch of other parents.

I watched as they started the hunt and she ran about 3 steps and then panicked: where was her basket? She couldn't possibly pick up eggs without the basket. Her brother was long gone, of course with task in mind. She turned back searching for me, the expression on her face heartbreaking the parental crowd thinned enough and I went to her, I pulled the basket off her head and handed it to her and told her she was okay (she was crying), and to go see if she could find an egg. I watched as she picked up one and then it was evident that all the eggs had been claimed. Her brother found her as he was charged to do and then from a distance I saw a huddle around her. When they emerged from the group everyone was happy.

They described to me what had transpired when they found me. Now looking through the pictures I am touched even more to see what I couldn't at the distance I was.

Without any adult interference just the sorrow of his sister he took it upon himself to make all things even.

In the pictures I can see her meet up with her brother, shoulders slumped in defeat.

I can see Z's appeal to the other hunters on her behalf. You can see in their faces what kind of a response they received.

He later told me he gave her half his eggs and then asked other kids around him if they would share just one with her.

It's a simple thing. A Christlike thing. A small act that makes me such a happy mom. Because of Him, Because of Jesus Christ my children know how to see a need and fill it, see a broken heart and mend it. They learn to serve as Our Savior served. Z ended up with less eggs than his sister.

Afterwards they had a raffle for a few gift baskets. In a tender mercy Nev's number won the raffle.

Which means that Z was even more unbalanced with the one he worried over, but it was all okay. 

As a parent, standing back and watching my children take care of each other is one of the most rewarding things. Their innocence, and charity is inspiring. 

May the beauty and awesomeness of Our Savior's gift and sacrifice be evidenced in types all around you. 

Happy Easter!

#becauseofHim 

Because of Him I'm a better Mom, Because of Him my children are better people, Because of Him I learn to love more perfectly. 

Everyone has just enough of a cold to make me exhausted, since I'm feeling it too. So we kept the kids out of school today. I am writing because I need to note today's successes.
4 loads of laundry folded and put away.
practiced sight words with the kindergartener
taught the 9 year old (again) the correct way to form her b and d's, next up f
9 year old finished a book
2 year old and 5 year old took a nap
4 year old helped fold laundry
I made pancakes for second breakfast (what's that? when the kids get up at 7 with Dad and eat cereal only to be sent back to bed because they are all coughing, and when I get up at 9 after being up all night with the two year old, I make pancakes for everyone)
renewed the library books
practiced writing "e" (with the four year old who writes them as backward g's) and other letters in her name
identified the letters the 5 year old didn't know
read books with the two year old
read tandem with 5 year old
practiced shape identification with 4 year old
said yes (this is a big one folks, it just is)
helped the 9 year old finally put together the butterfly garden she got in June for her birthday
9 year old practiced piano
I made arrangements for supplemental help at tonight's youth activity
No TV has been watched (1 movie by the 5 year old before everyone else woke up)

The Red Wagon

We got a red wagon in anticipation of taking the kids to Disney World for the first time.
If you are thinking the same.... don't. Buy it for another reason. About any other reason.


I'll tell you why. The van with 6 people in it can only hold so much. That wagon took up the trunk pretty effectively.

Imagine arriving at the park with 4 excited kids, 8, 5, 3, 2 who had never been, whose minds might literally e  x  p  l  o  d  e in the anticipation and getting that red wagon all loaded up with snacks, rain coats, lunch, sippy cups etc. Hauling the kids up to the Tram in the wagon and being told you can't take your pretty red wagon.

So we'd have to go back to the van, figure out how to carry all our stuff... and thinking ahead to tired feet and tired legs and tired bodies who would want to be carried, who wouldn't want to carry their own coats by wearing them and who would have no care for how much Mom and Dad were carrying already or how badly the bum-wheeled shopping cart messed up Mom's back the day before. All while the kids are asking WHY? and When can we go? and a myriad of other questions; so it makes it nearly impossible for Mom and Dad to think of solutions.

And imagine, because it would totally happen that the 2 year old would start wandering off in between cars and make a game of hiding... and inevitably someone (Dad) would raise his voice and some "concerned citizen" would call DCFS because Mom was hauling a screaming child away from a car door that he was desperately clinging too.

Then imagine that someone (Dad) threatens the kids that if they don't stop asking questions we are going to load back up in the van and go home. Of course they wouldn't stop asking questions and since Mom and Dad still don't have a solution and now are worn out already and are trying to stick to their resolve on following through on "threats".... They load the screamer, the crier and the angry and disbelieving kids in the van and try to then decide if they really go home or if they go buy ANOTHER stroller....

Hope you got a pretty good picture there. I sure did.

Thankfully, I did just imagine all this because Disney World does not allow wagons.

We discovered this the night before we left. Like 11pm.

What a blessing.

Staying up late deciding which to take (Stroller or pram) made for a much better day than if we had showed up at the gates with our shiny, new, red wagon, personalized and everything.

We ended up taking the pram and then for spring break the next week did buy a double/ sit and stand stroller. If Giddy could share the pram would have been great, but he's a super jealous youngest child and it wasn't happening.

The Red Wagon (Part 2)

So here we have this nonreturnable personalized wagon. Which, let's be honest, I've always wanted for my kids. So we let them play with it in the yard, and we go on walks with it.

Sunday evening we went on a walk with it after General Conference.

We turned down a street we never have before. Neither of us brought any electronic devices, and finding ourselves in a dead end had to turn around. By this time the kids were tired and had switched in and out of the wagon walking or riding and Giddy was getting all jealous of Mom holding hands with Dad so the middle two were in the wagon. Olea trailed with us.

I watched the middle two and listened to their laughter as they leaned over the side of the wagon trailing sticks in the white shell-sand road. I soaked in the feeling of Giddy clutching tightly around my neck as I held him on my chest. I wanted a picture, but didn't have one so took a snapshot with my heart.

Life at it's best.


The Red Wagon

Daddy pulls the red wagon 
In a winding path
Creating soft ruts in the fragmented shells
Their two heads jostle 
each on a soft arm resting over the side
Their other arms drag a stick pressed into the ground
Like sparklers in the sandy road
leaving snakelike wiggles behind them for the length of our travel
Giggles at the simple joy peak and die
as they watch the sand spray
and listen to it grind and fall
In harmony with the wagon wheels
She wanders behind
skipping back and forth in the lines
as Daddy pulls the red wagon.


Hold
 
His arms clutch 
warm and squishy 
solid in his resolve 
to hang on
to Mommy
I wrap my arms
snug against him 
creating a seat
hanging on to my hips to anchor it
as I walk with him
carried against me
his sweet curls catch
in my eyes 
his kisses saturate my cheek 
his little hands pat my back
renew and tighten his grip 

More Hair

Olea desired a hair cut after I got mine cut so we had the lovely Hillary come back and Olea made a Locks of Love donation and got a shorter do.

 Zurich was finally convinced to have a hair cut too, and at his request we did it really short so we wouldn't have to cut it again for a while. I let him go at it with the clippers a bit, he was super ginger. And no, that little wavy haired baby boy will not be getting a hair cut anytime soon. :)

Merry Christmas!

Sleigh ride Florida style

Gary asked me the other night if I missed the snow.
Nope.
But there are some things that are classic Christmas, that just aren't possible the same way in a tropical climate. So we are changing up traditions and trying new things and loving it.

We already went to St. Augustine and rode the Holly Jolly Trolly so what do do Christmas Eve?

 Go to the swamp and hitch an air boat ride. Obviously. ;) Actually, we have some friends who got a gift certificate for an air boat ride for six people. They gifted it to us because they weren't going to use it and knew we would. None of us have ever been on an air boat so we were all pretty excited. It was a cooler day so we bundled up a bit since we'd be against the wind. I was glad to have a use for the hats I knitted the kids. :) Awe look at that ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.

 Olea got to ride the high seat first. Giddy was happy to chill for most of it.

 

 

 Nev was singing into the wind.

 Cranes looking for a place to build a nest.

 The clan of us (driver took the picture)

Zurich wanted to go fast and got his wish. He's watching the dials.

 Pretty Lake Woodruff

 Giddy-Phone before he rejected the earphones.

 Nev was so pleased when she got her turn to sit on the high seat. She sang the whole time and the driver got a kick out of it. He was totally cool with the kids, I always worry because people here just aren't that used to kids, especially four of them at once. He was very accommodating and we had a blast. Gary really is interested in doing a gator hunt or bow fishing via air boat.

 

 

 

 We saw quite a few Gator especially for it being an overcast day but this lil guy was the only one I got a picture of.

As we headed home I said to Gary, "That was a nice sleigh ride; Florida style."

Grandma and Grandpa are amazing

For Christmas this year we did our best to convince Grandma and Grandpa to come here again for the kids.  :) It worked out their time off was when we were planning on re-doing the boys' room. Oh they always manage to get sucked into our projects. But they are so skilled! Don't worry we made plenty of time for play too.

While they were here Grandpa made the kids stilts and a teeter-totter. It's perfect sitting there between the trees. I love it. The kids love it, so that's the best.

Grandma took the scary out of wall paper removal for me and kept the kids entertained so I could paint. Gary and his dad worked on the bunk beds.

Grandma needed bubble wrap for the cute advent calendars she made with each of the kids and at Lowe's the guys picked up a huge role of it. So Grandma covered the kitchen floor with it and let the kids live out a childhood fantasy.

After Gary and I got the basic of the paint done we took the kids out of school and went up to Historic St. Augustine. Since moving to FL we have tried to learn more about our new home state. It's kinda crazy to grow up knowing Utah/ Idaho and west history and geography and barely anything about your new home state.

Nev has also been begging to go with Daddy on a trip and stay in a hotel. Oh they love hotels. I think it might be the phones.

  

 

 First up the Irish Pub for some corned beef
 
 Then the Holly Jolly Trolly

We missed Santa, he left early so we went the next day.
LAME. He didn't even bother to pull up his fake beard.

Nev was so cute with her glasses on and slunked up in her coat with her squishy face. Oh how I adore my lil cherub.

We took a historic tour in a trolly which was really cool.

I could develop a fondness of a local college. :) We also visited the Castillo de San Marcos and Olea took the time to read up as she saw things. It was nice to go again when it wasn't so busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Nev finds flowers to pick everywhere.

Olea saw a man weaving palm fronds and admired them for a while. He gave her this dragonfly. Pretty cool. Off to the sweet shop.  

While walking the streets of  St. Augustine we got the kids their t-shirts and I saw a shirt and almost said something to Gary but decided not to. While I thought he was paying I went out of the store and was telling Gary's dad about the shirt, next thing I know he comes out all proud of himself with a bright blue shirt on. YUP, that's the one I decided not to direct your attention to. :D Totally goes with the do-rag he was wearing to keep his minor head surgery covered. (He had a cyst removed from his scalp).

Giddy love to pour things.... it's cute to see how exciting it is for him, but exhausting to clean up all the mess.

  We went to Winter Wonderland and played around, the Santa there was much better. We got to take the kids ice skating. Zurich tried it but didn't care for it much. Olea was a pro. Nev was very determined and I was proud of her. Giddy enjoyed it but overall was just plain tired. They even made fake snow out of suds which was fun, but without all the cold. :)

We also went to the Alligator farm and expanded our knowledge on alligators. :)

 A little boy I know was being a pretty big "no" say-er and ready for a nap.

 Grandma and Grandpa came so full of energy giving the kids horsey rides and helping us tackle some pretty big projects, go go go play play play. We were so happy to have them with us and all their help.