Part 2 of our Portland Home Tour is coming...probably when we don't live here anymore, but it is coming!
In the meantime I just wanted to check in and say "HI!" to blogland. When I said our theme for the year was going to be EXPLORE, I really had no idea how much I really meant it! We have had an entire summer of exploration. We have picked every kind of fruit that grows in Oregon, we have walked and hiked and found new parks, we have played in lakes and rivers and oceans, we have felt the sand between our toes on beaches and riverfronts, we have bought fresh caught salmon from the side of the road and cooked it whole (oh my yum!), we have spent hours and hours and hours in our cul de sac playing with the neighbor kids, sitting on our bench, and pushing Ellie in the swing hanging from our tree. We have played with friends at parks, had friends over for dinner, joined friends for dinner, missed naps and kept our kids up way too late, just to get in a little more friend time. I have been taking pictures of our family and other families nonstop, so the lack of visual stimulation here is only a result of too many sessions in the editing queue. A full year after our first adventure to downtown Portland, we finally got up the courage to venture down there with the kids again and checked out the world's largest independently owned bookstore...the kids were in heaven with books as far as the eye could see! We walked along the downtown riverfront and were reminded why we are totally ok with the fact that we only took the kids downtown twice the whole time we lived here (legalized and openly smoked marijuana, people who are homeless by choice, and the fresh smell of pee everywhere...really not our thang). And on the topic of pee, I have helped my children pee in the grass more times than I care to admit while playing on playgrounds with no bathrooms...seriously Portland...you need more bathrooms!!!
Yes, it has been a summer of exploration and I am happy to say that we have made the very most of every single day we have had here. Sadly, our time here is drawing to a close, and I am not sure I am ready to let it end. I have truly learned to love this place...even if it is only in the Summer and Fall. We have been so blessed with dear friends who we don't want to leave, fun adventures we would love to experience again, and fruits and veggies we just can't get enough of.
Our year in Portland will likely go down in our family's history as the hardest year of our life. It will be remembered as the year that nothing went the way we had planned and everything sort of just unraveled at the seams. But it will also be remembered as the year we learned about seizing the moment, heading out on adventure, trusting in Heavenly Father even when his plan seems pretty crappy, the power of sunshine, the joy of service and the sweetness of true and meaningful friendships. As I pack each box, I feel another tinge of sadness at the thought of leaving...and it makes me happy because it means that we have given this place a little bit of ourselves and it, in turn, has filled a space in our hearts.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
home sweet home
We have now lived in our house for almost a year and I have yet to take my blogland friends on a tour of our pad! I offered to take pics of our house for our landlord to post to advertise the house, so it is the perfect opportunity to share them with you as well. Of course, parts of the house currently have towers of boxes stacked against the walls, so I will have to share them in a few days, but here is a little start.
So yeah...WELCOME!
Our street is absolutely fabulous! We are now completely spoiled and never want to live anywhere but a cul de sac for the rest of our lives! Our house is the one with the white bench under the tree and my black car in the driveway right there on the far right of the photo.
It also doesn't hurt that we have this fabulous green space at the end of the cul de sac where the kids spend a good deal of time finding bugs, making forts and plotting out elaborate games of pretend. Callie (and all the other dogs) love to play catch out here, and it is the perfect place to run around and get some energy out. There is a 2nd basketball hoop across the circle, and the hoops have gotten some good full court use!
And this is it...our home sweet home. It is a very tall house and has been known to be pretty intimidating to the 3, 5 and 7 year olds coming for playdates, but some of the kiddos think it looks like a castle, so that has to count for something, right! I'm not gonna lie, the stairs are absolutely killer on grocery day (and every other day really), but we have some beautiful views from our windows.
The entryway and "study" are the rooms filled with boxes and unphotographed, so we are going to jump right upstairs to the bedrooms and come back to those in part 2. :)
Morgan's room A.K.A. the room we kick him out of whenever we have guests. His room is the smallest of them all, but has the best view and the most light. His friends like to write messages in chalk on the street so he can read them from his bed when his rude mom makes him go to bed earlier than everyone else. Oh the woes of being the oldest and having a strict bedtime. ;) I should mention here that none of our kids have any toys in their rooms. They barely go to sleep with no light, a door locked from the outside and no toys, so you can probably understand why their rooms look so bare.
Chloe and Brynn's room. There is an extra mattress in here for Morgan when he gets kicked out of his room. Really he LOVES getting kicked out of his room, probably in part because it is like a big slumber party when he sleeps in the girls' room and because he loves it when people come to visit. (hint hint! His bed will also be available for visitors in Arizona and we fully expect you to take advantage of it!) The gray dresser is part of a set that our neighbors were just getting rid of (solid wood in perfect condition) and asked us if we wanted it. Of course, we wanted it and I painted it and added new hardware and now am in love with it. I'd also like to point your attention to the lovely wall color in here (ha!) This was the color of every single wall in the entire house and all of the ceilings before we started covering it up one room at a time - the kids' bedrooms obviously weren't the top priority for new paint.
Ellie's room + the other guest bedroom. This is the only bedroom in the house with pictures on the walls. From this room you can see the Portland temple out the window. Plus you get that adorable little chubba bubba in the crib as your roomie! We easily fit another queen sized bed in there with room to spare.
So yeah...WELCOME!
Our street is absolutely fabulous! We are now completely spoiled and never want to live anywhere but a cul de sac for the rest of our lives! Our house is the one with the white bench under the tree and my black car in the driveway right there on the far right of the photo.
It also doesn't hurt that we have this fabulous green space at the end of the cul de sac where the kids spend a good deal of time finding bugs, making forts and plotting out elaborate games of pretend. Callie (and all the other dogs) love to play catch out here, and it is the perfect place to run around and get some energy out. There is a 2nd basketball hoop across the circle, and the hoops have gotten some good full court use!
And this is it...our home sweet home. It is a very tall house and has been known to be pretty intimidating to the 3, 5 and 7 year olds coming for playdates, but some of the kiddos think it looks like a castle, so that has to count for something, right! I'm not gonna lie, the stairs are absolutely killer on grocery day (and every other day really), but we have some beautiful views from our windows.
The entryway and "study" are the rooms filled with boxes and unphotographed, so we are going to jump right upstairs to the bedrooms and come back to those in part 2. :)
Morgan's room A.K.A. the room we kick him out of whenever we have guests. His room is the smallest of them all, but has the best view and the most light. His friends like to write messages in chalk on the street so he can read them from his bed when his rude mom makes him go to bed earlier than everyone else. Oh the woes of being the oldest and having a strict bedtime. ;) I should mention here that none of our kids have any toys in their rooms. They barely go to sleep with no light, a door locked from the outside and no toys, so you can probably understand why their rooms look so bare.
Chloe and Brynn's room. There is an extra mattress in here for Morgan when he gets kicked out of his room. Really he LOVES getting kicked out of his room, probably in part because it is like a big slumber party when he sleeps in the girls' room and because he loves it when people come to visit. (hint hint! His bed will also be available for visitors in Arizona and we fully expect you to take advantage of it!) The gray dresser is part of a set that our neighbors were just getting rid of (solid wood in perfect condition) and asked us if we wanted it. Of course, we wanted it and I painted it and added new hardware and now am in love with it. I'd also like to point your attention to the lovely wall color in here (ha!) This was the color of every single wall in the entire house and all of the ceilings before we started covering it up one room at a time - the kids' bedrooms obviously weren't the top priority for new paint.
Ellie's room + the other guest bedroom. This is the only bedroom in the house with pictures on the walls. From this room you can see the Portland temple out the window. Plus you get that adorable little chubba bubba in the crib as your roomie! We easily fit another queen sized bed in there with room to spare.
The master suite is ridiculously large...I guess maybe I just don't spend enough time in my room to appreciate it! The pictures don't really do justice to how much space is in there.
This is something I do appreciate though! We scoured craigslist after we moved to find a good king sized bedroom set (not the mattress, just a frame I could refinish) and we found this Cal King frame and nightstands for $150!! It took forever to paint them, and I am on the hunt for some columns to add some height to the 4 posts, but well worth it! We got our mattress from Amazon.com and the UPS guy was really confused when he dropped it off because it was rolled up in a 20x20x84 inch box that weighed 110 lbs. I agreed to help him get it up to my front door if he would help me get it up the stairs inside the house.
And then there is the master bathroom...love the bath, love the counter space, love the storage, hate cleaning the stinkin' thing! It takes forever and actually has enough floor to require a mop. Weird! I joke about it, but really, it is bigger than our kitchen was at our house in SLC.
The closet is equally large and is about the size of the girls' room was in our house in SLC. It reminds me on a daily basis that I don't have enough clothes to have a closet that big. So, to fill the void, I stash my photography props, fabric stash and seasonal wear for the fam (swimsuits/winter gear) in there. We have also created a little Callie corner in there with a pile of pillows and soft blankies for her to snuggle into. The Callie corner serves a double purpose because Brynn goes to sleep in there whenever she and Chloe won't settle down at night (which ends up being most nights). I know, we are the meanest parents ever. ;)
The closet is also home to the weights. Clearly, those are mine and I lift them regularly. ha ha. (ok...really, I have to move them out of the middle of the floor one at a time and only a foot or two at a time when Seth leaves them in the middle of the floor.)
Well, that is a pretty good start, right! As you can see, I stink at decorating and our bedrooms pretty much consist of beds and dressers only. I promise I did put some effort into decorating my house, but that effort ran out by the time I got upstairs and then the possibility of moving came up and I decided to put it all on hold anyway. I guess it is good that we started with the least exciting part of the house because it can only get better from there. :) Next time I will take you into the kids' bathroom (if I can ever keep it clean long enough to snap a picture) and then downstairs to the playroom, the kitchen and great room, the office/study, the entryway and the most popular place in our house: the stairs!
Excited?
Monday, July 23, 2012
Lessons from Bambi aka I don't hate Oregon
It is a classic line of the movie Bambi:
"If you can't say something nice, don't say nuttin' at all."
Since Thumper is pretty convincing, I have tried to live that principal since I watched the movie as a kiddo. I think I have done a pretty good job of it for most of my life. I think I did a decent job of it here on the blog...which is probably one of the reasons why I haven't posted much in the last year (well, that and the fact that I have 4 kids, a husband who I actually spend time with daily, family and friends to stay in touch with and new people to meet and sights to see). Sure I post about the hard stuff on here, but I try to keep things positive and nice, because I think that there is good in everything, if you look for it hard enough.
But, apparently I have failed to follow Thumper's rule when it comes to talking about Oregon because people keep saying to me, "You must really not like it there," or "Sounds like it is a really good thing you are moving!". I haven't meant to portray that, so, I want to apologize and explain. I do not think Oregon is awful. I do not hate living there. I actually think that under a different set of circumstances, I may have loved it there. I think it is quirky (Portlandians post billboards and bumper stickers with the slogan "keep Portland weird" all over the place) and as such has a lot of things that are fun to laugh about and tell people about because they are fun conversation topics. I also tend to complain about how stinkin' expensive it is to live in Portland because it is a constant source of frustration for us as we try to make headway on paying off our student debt. It is no secret that the weather has definitely been hard for us to handle, but that is something everybody in Oregon complains about because by the time you get to April, May, June and you still haven't seen the sun, you really start to get "winteritis". All of these things would be manageable if it weren't for the fact that all of things we moved to Oregon to accomplish were not being accomplished. Not because Oregon is awful, but because it wasn't what we expected it would be.
We had anticipated that it would be more expensive (and thus pay more), but not as much more expensive as it is. We had anticipated that we would be able to spend a lot of time together as a family exploring the city, but 4 kids in downtown Portland is just plain scary. We had anticipated that we would drive less and walk/bike more, but where we live is very very hilly and not close to things like stores, work, restaurants. We do walk to the park frequently in the summer, but it is too wet to play at the park in the winter/spring/most-of-fall. We thought we would get out and do stuff in the rain because that had never stopped us before, but it is too cold/wet/slippery/dark to actually get out and do that with the kids. Obviously the big clincher was that the student loan repayment didn't pan out which was the main reason we had chosen that job. Overall, I think it was just the "surprise" after "surprise" after "surprise" that caused us so much frustration over the past year.
But, we have been happy and excited and have enjoyed so much of Oregon too! I don't talk about this stuff with people as often because it is not as exciting and entertaining, but definitely an integral part of my thoughts on Oregon.
- Fall is truly the most incredible thing I have ever seen. For 2 months the leaves change to be one color, and change to another color, and change yet again before they fall.
- The rivers are so majestic and beautiful that your drive to anywhere becomes a scenic adventure!
- November and December were perfect...a chill in the air, the colors of fall and greenery even after the leaves fell, and a good mix of rain and sun.
- The kids have LOVED their school experience...they had incredible teachers, so many friends, and learned so so much!
- I love the way that our city was designed...everybody lives on cul de sacs, and there are walking paths that go between the backyards so you never have to walk along the roads. There are parks all over the place and greenspaces everywhere. I love that in Oregon, they don't just maximize the space for new development, they determine which part of the space should be preserved as greenspace and then build around it!
- I love the people! We were embraced with open arms in our ward and (most) of our neighborhood and immediately felt included. I already get teary thinking about leaving all of our friends! I have learned to ask for help, rely on people, and to reach out with open arms to help and serve without hesitation as people have done for us. My sweet cousin Dusti lived near us until they moved back to Utah last month and I am so grateful she was there. She is one of those people that makes you feel like you are doing her a favor to let her help you out. It was such a blessing to get to spend time with her and her family and get to know her better!
- Spring! I have never seen so many flowering things in my life! The trees flower, the bushes flower, the weeds flower, the rocks flower (ha ha...really it is just moss), and the actual flowers are enormous!!! It is so stunning! You walk out side and see rainbows of colors and hear the birds chirping and you can't help but be moved by how beautiful it is! It is exponentially more beautiful the 7 days of spring when the sun shines, but even lovely when it is cloudy.
- Summer is amazing! Everybody spends their entire life outside in the summer...eating on the patio, playing at the park, swimming at the lake, playing in the splash pads at the parks, walking around the neighborhood...it is lovely!
- We can see the temple out of our windows! We have LOVED being so close to the temple and having it within our ward boundaries. The kids love to walk to the temple, or spot the Angel Moroni from the car as we run errands. The visitors center is their favorite place to visit!
- We have loved being able to get to know the missionaries so well. We have them over for dinner at least once or twice a month, they teach FHE lessons at our house every so often, they call for rides...we love it and it is fun to be engaged in the work they are doing!
- Picking berries in Oregon is delicious, cheap, and fun...enough said!
- I love the farmland just south of where we live and would absolutely adore living there if it didn't mean a 1 hr. commute for Seth. There is more sun down that way too. :)
- OMSI is so fun!
- Waterfalls! Everywhere you look there are waterfalls. It is amazing!
- The Oregon Zoo is huge with so much to see!- The coast is close by and a perfect day trip for a mental reset!
There is so much else I could say about the wonderfulness of Oregon, but I have to get back to enjoying our time visiting family in Utah. Making this list has gotten me all excited to go back to Oregon and spend the next 2 months soaking it all in!
"If you can't say something nice, don't say nuttin' at all."
Since Thumper is pretty convincing, I have tried to live that principal since I watched the movie as a kiddo. I think I have done a pretty good job of it for most of my life. I think I did a decent job of it here on the blog...which is probably one of the reasons why I haven't posted much in the last year (well, that and the fact that I have 4 kids, a husband who I actually spend time with daily, family and friends to stay in touch with and new people to meet and sights to see). Sure I post about the hard stuff on here, but I try to keep things positive and nice, because I think that there is good in everything, if you look for it hard enough.
But, apparently I have failed to follow Thumper's rule when it comes to talking about Oregon because people keep saying to me, "You must really not like it there," or "Sounds like it is a really good thing you are moving!". I haven't meant to portray that, so, I want to apologize and explain. I do not think Oregon is awful. I do not hate living there. I actually think that under a different set of circumstances, I may have loved it there. I think it is quirky (Portlandians post billboards and bumper stickers with the slogan "keep Portland weird" all over the place) and as such has a lot of things that are fun to laugh about and tell people about because they are fun conversation topics. I also tend to complain about how stinkin' expensive it is to live in Portland because it is a constant source of frustration for us as we try to make headway on paying off our student debt. It is no secret that the weather has definitely been hard for us to handle, but that is something everybody in Oregon complains about because by the time you get to April, May, June and you still haven't seen the sun, you really start to get "winteritis". All of these things would be manageable if it weren't for the fact that all of things we moved to Oregon to accomplish were not being accomplished. Not because Oregon is awful, but because it wasn't what we expected it would be.
We had anticipated that it would be more expensive (and thus pay more), but not as much more expensive as it is. We had anticipated that we would be able to spend a lot of time together as a family exploring the city, but 4 kids in downtown Portland is just plain scary. We had anticipated that we would drive less and walk/bike more, but where we live is very very hilly and not close to things like stores, work, restaurants. We do walk to the park frequently in the summer, but it is too wet to play at the park in the winter/spring/most-of-fall. We thought we would get out and do stuff in the rain because that had never stopped us before, but it is too cold/wet/slippery/dark to actually get out and do that with the kids. Obviously the big clincher was that the student loan repayment didn't pan out which was the main reason we had chosen that job. Overall, I think it was just the "surprise" after "surprise" after "surprise" that caused us so much frustration over the past year.
But, we have been happy and excited and have enjoyed so much of Oregon too! I don't talk about this stuff with people as often because it is not as exciting and entertaining, but definitely an integral part of my thoughts on Oregon.
- Fall is truly the most incredible thing I have ever seen. For 2 months the leaves change to be one color, and change to another color, and change yet again before they fall.
- The rivers are so majestic and beautiful that your drive to anywhere becomes a scenic adventure!
- November and December were perfect...a chill in the air, the colors of fall and greenery even after the leaves fell, and a good mix of rain and sun.
- The kids have LOVED their school experience...they had incredible teachers, so many friends, and learned so so much!
- I love the way that our city was designed...everybody lives on cul de sacs, and there are walking paths that go between the backyards so you never have to walk along the roads. There are parks all over the place and greenspaces everywhere. I love that in Oregon, they don't just maximize the space for new development, they determine which part of the space should be preserved as greenspace and then build around it!
- I love the people! We were embraced with open arms in our ward and (most) of our neighborhood and immediately felt included. I already get teary thinking about leaving all of our friends! I have learned to ask for help, rely on people, and to reach out with open arms to help and serve without hesitation as people have done for us. My sweet cousin Dusti lived near us until they moved back to Utah last month and I am so grateful she was there. She is one of those people that makes you feel like you are doing her a favor to let her help you out. It was such a blessing to get to spend time with her and her family and get to know her better!
- Spring! I have never seen so many flowering things in my life! The trees flower, the bushes flower, the weeds flower, the rocks flower (ha ha...really it is just moss), and the actual flowers are enormous!!! It is so stunning! You walk out side and see rainbows of colors and hear the birds chirping and you can't help but be moved by how beautiful it is! It is exponentially more beautiful the 7 days of spring when the sun shines, but even lovely when it is cloudy.
- Summer is amazing! Everybody spends their entire life outside in the summer...eating on the patio, playing at the park, swimming at the lake, playing in the splash pads at the parks, walking around the neighborhood...it is lovely!
- We can see the temple out of our windows! We have LOVED being so close to the temple and having it within our ward boundaries. The kids love to walk to the temple, or spot the Angel Moroni from the car as we run errands. The visitors center is their favorite place to visit!
- We have loved being able to get to know the missionaries so well. We have them over for dinner at least once or twice a month, they teach FHE lessons at our house every so often, they call for rides...we love it and it is fun to be engaged in the work they are doing!
- Picking berries in Oregon is delicious, cheap, and fun...enough said!
- I love the farmland just south of where we live and would absolutely adore living there if it didn't mean a 1 hr. commute for Seth. There is more sun down that way too. :)
- OMSI is so fun!
- Waterfalls! Everywhere you look there are waterfalls. It is amazing!
- The Oregon Zoo is huge with so much to see!- The coast is close by and a perfect day trip for a mental reset!
There is so much else I could say about the wonderfulness of Oregon, but I have to get back to enjoying our time visiting family in Utah. Making this list has gotten me all excited to go back to Oregon and spend the next 2 months soaking it all in!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
to Oregon and beyond
preface to this post: I started this post nearly 2 months ago before the last post I published on here, and have amended it a few times since. When I first wrote it, things were uncertain and I was feeling rather discouraged, but over the course of the last few months, so much has changed and Heavenly Father has blessed our little family with many sweet miracles. I wish I had posted it when I wrote it and updated as it changed to more accurately document the journey it has been to come to where we are now. But since I didn't, suffice it to say that while this year has been a trying one, as it has unfolded I have grown acutely aware that it has been part of a bigger plan for our family and has blessed us richly!
the view of Lake Oswego from Millennium Plaza downtown
We live in a gorgeous place! But, despite being here for almost a year now, I still have a hard time considering Oregon home. It feels more like and extended stay visit that we are constantly settling into. It has been quite a year. We have weathered gray skies outside and some gray skies inside too. We have made dear friends and have spent time exploring new things and enjoying the beauty around us. We have learned to live without family close by and to make the most of every chance we have to see them. We have written a lot of letters "home" and done a lot of skyping. We have had sticker shock over and over and over again as we have discovered just how much more the cost of living is here (say what you will about SLC, but it is a seriously cost-effective place to live). We have enjoyed having a lot of space in our home, but have come to the conclusion that we prefer a smaller home and the simpler life that allows. We have been severely lacking in Vitamin D and my camera has never been used at such high ISO's so consistently. We have shed some tears, struggled through frustrations, survived post-partum depression, and found so much happiness in the many opportunities we have had to serve here. We have watched our children blossom in every way. Each of them have grown so much while we have been here. Most of all, I feel like we have been guided by the spirit to be exactly where we are supposed to be.
But, as with many things in life, our plan for this adventure has not worked out exactly as intended. A big part of the reason we moved here was to pay off Seth's student loans. The clinic where he works is qualified to participate in a federal loan repayment program that offers loan repayment for a 2 year service contract in rural or underserved areas. You negotiate your salary with the employer so that you are getting a fair market salary and then apply for the repayment through the federal program separately. We had researched the program before Seth started school and had continued to follow it throughout his schooling and everything about the program had been consistent. So, when we received the offer we made the big move to Portland knowing that we would apply for the repayment in the "fall" when enrollment opened. At the beginning of December, we finally got the email about enrollment opening, but that email also came with some bad news: funding had been cut and the program had been restructured as a result. They would now award repayment based on your site's "score" (highest need sites receive a 21 down to lowest need sites at 0). Additionally, any sites with scores below 14 would also get $20k less for the 2 year commitment.
At the time, Seth's site score was a 9, so we continued as planned and just figured we would have to extend an additional year to pay that same amount. Fast forward a few months and the dreaded email arrived. 5600 applicants and only 1600 awards...if your site score is less than a 14, it is unlikely you will get repayment. A 9 wasn't looking so good, but what's more...his site's score had been reduced to a 4. So we considered our options: keep the current job and pick up a bunch of extra shifts for the next few years? Look for higher paying jobs here? Seek out other loan repayment opportunities at sites with higher scores?
Seth sent out his resume and the options started rolling in (he really hit the mark on choosing a marketable profession and being amazing at what he does!). Within a few short weeks, Seth had completed a variety of phone interviews and we were flying off to an interview in Tucson, AZ. We honestly had very little intention of it working out. We had an idea in our minds of what the offer would have to be for us to consider the move, and we were shocked when they made an offer that was better than we could have hoped. After much prayer and deliberation, we accepted the offer and once again, our little family is moving (this makes 3 moves in 13 months)!!
It has been a difficult decision to make. We will miss the amazing friends that have made our lives so rich and full, our fabulous ward and Seth's clinic that just adores him (so much that they are still trying to convince him to stay), our incredible neighborhood, our wonderful ward, the stunning scenery and the fabulous schools. But, we have discovered that moving isn't the end of the world...definitely a pain, but completely manageable. It still seems a little overwhelming, but we are ready for the adventure: enjoying every minute of a beautiful Oregon summer chock full of exploration and dear friends, a great big dose of SUNSHINE, and a gorgeous fall, winter and spring in Arizona!
Friday, June 8, 2012
why i love changing diapers...
shhh...don't tell Seth I said this, but this face makes diaper changing totally worth it!
I can't believe this little girl is ONE!!! All of a sudden she is looking all grown up!
Last Friday was her first birthday and the poor little thing was uber-sick. She had double ear infections and RSV in addition to cutting a few teeth: complete misery. My little angel baby who never cries or fusses, wanted to be held nonstop. She was so miserable, that we even had to postpone her birthday celebration. So sad! Anyway...the festivities are planned for tomorrow, and I am looking forward to capturing many more of these little Ellie smiles! Oh how much I love her!!!
I can't believe this little girl is ONE!!! All of a sudden she is looking all grown up!
Last Friday was her first birthday and the poor little thing was uber-sick. She had double ear infections and RSV in addition to cutting a few teeth: complete misery. My little angel baby who never cries or fusses, wanted to be held nonstop. She was so miserable, that we even had to postpone her birthday celebration. So sad! Anyway...the festivities are planned for tomorrow, and I am looking forward to capturing many more of these little Ellie smiles! Oh how much I love her!!!
Happy Birthday to my Little Buddy
Oh Morgan! I have been procrastinating this post after writing about motherhood on his birthday, because I just don't know that I have words to adequately describe my sweet little man at this stage of his life. In a world of pink tea parties, my little ponies and stopping to pick every.single.dandelion we see on a walk around the neighborhood, Morgan is our rock! He grounds us and gives us a new perspective, a willing helping hand, the knight in shining armor or scary dragon, and the ability to survive the day drama-free! What a champ he is.
Morgan,
At 7 years old, you are amazing! I am ever-impressed by the things that you know. You can (and `do) read anything you can get your hands on! Your favorite books are the Magic Treehouse series, Fly Guy books, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus series, and Where's Waldo (even though those don't really count as reading). You love to learn and are constantly asking questions about how the world works. We usually have to turn to YouTube videos to answer your questions in enough detail to satisfy your curiousity, and I am certain you aren't going to let me off the hook about going to see the paper plant from the video about how paper is made until I take you.
You are constantly teaching us about the things you learn at school. One of my favorite overheard conversations in the back seat of the car went like this:
At 7, you are such a responsible kid! When you get home from school on Monday afternoons, you sit down and immediately do your homework for the whole week, usually before I even know you are doing it. You make and pack your own lunch and are ready for school and helping your sisters before I am even out of the shower most mornings.
You get up ridiculously early...most days around 6:30am...despite my best efforts to get you to sleep in! No matter what I try, you just want to get up and spend a little time eating breakfast with your Dad before he heads out to work.
Playing Wii is a highlight for you and you have gotten pretty good at it lately. Too bad you have a crazy mama who doesn't let you play very often. :) You love legos and have had so much fun building all sorts of fun things. Your favorite activity, though, is playing in the cul de sac with your neighborhood friends! You love the independence and friendships and the opportunity to explore!
You have such a caring spirit! You are always reaching out to the people around you to make them feel needed, loved, and included. At the last parent teacher conference, your teacher showed us a book you wrote about a friend in your class. You had done a great job on the book, but your teacher told us that there was something particularly special about your book: the friend you wrote the book about doesn't talk. When you originally started the book, she thought you had made up the information and she was amazed to find out that you had actually asked tons and tons of yes/no questions to find out all about him. You have been such a good friend to him...it makes my mama heart proud! You have made so many friends here and that has been really fun!
You are so sweet to your sisters! You still know how to position things so they will like them..."You can be the beautiful princess and I will come and rescue you from the evil dragon!" or "Oh you love that movie because it has the beautiful girl in it!" You are willing to play petshops or tea party or princesses, but you definitely dish out your share of brotherly torment and teasing too!
Regardless, they adore you. Each girl has a very special and sweet relationship with you and consider you their very best buddy because you treat them that way. You tend to be patient, patient, patient and then snap, so when you have a bad day there is a lot of crying and time outs, but fortunately that doesn't happen very often.Your little sisters are so lucky to have you as their big brother and they definitely know it!
Missing family has been particularly hard on you because you have been so close to them throughout your life, so when people come to stay with us you are always excited to let them have your room in exchange for playing with you all day long! It is a pretty good deal for everyone (okay, maybe they could live without the 6:00 am wake up calls...).
I am so lucky to have you as my little boy. It is hard to believe that it has already been 7 years since you joined our family! I hope you never get too old to snuggle up to me and give me hugs while we read books. I hope you continue to be so excited about knowing your articles of faith, reading scriptures and saying prayers.
When you jump out of the car at school in the morning, put your arm around your sister to lead her in the door and flash a little sign language "I love you" over your shoulder, it makes my day! Please keep doing that forever! Thank you for helping your mama without complaint, for striving to be your very best self, for learning and growing, and for keeping our home filled with laughter and happiness!
Love you buddy!
Happy Birthday!!
xoxoxo,
Mom!
(p.s. the light in our house is the WORST...sorry for the yellow pictures!)
Morgan,
At 7 years old, you are amazing! I am ever-impressed by the things that you know. You can (and `do) read anything you can get your hands on! Your favorite books are the Magic Treehouse series, Fly Guy books, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus series, and Where's Waldo (even though those don't really count as reading). You love to learn and are constantly asking questions about how the world works. We usually have to turn to YouTube videos to answer your questions in enough detail to satisfy your curiousity, and I am certain you aren't going to let me off the hook about going to see the paper plant from the video about how paper is made until I take you.
You are constantly teaching us about the things you learn at school. One of my favorite overheard conversations in the back seat of the car went like this:
"Chloe, do you know what evaporation is?"I love that you get excited about learning and want to share that with us!
"no."
"Well, it is when water on the ground dries up and goes up in the air to form a cloud. Then that water rains from the clouds and it happens over and over again. So, the same water that Heavenly Father put on the earth when he created it, is the water that is still on the earth today!"
At 7, you are such a responsible kid! When you get home from school on Monday afternoons, you sit down and immediately do your homework for the whole week, usually before I even know you are doing it. You make and pack your own lunch and are ready for school and helping your sisters before I am even out of the shower most mornings.
You get up ridiculously early...most days around 6:30am...despite my best efforts to get you to sleep in! No matter what I try, you just want to get up and spend a little time eating breakfast with your Dad before he heads out to work.
Playing Wii is a highlight for you and you have gotten pretty good at it lately. Too bad you have a crazy mama who doesn't let you play very often. :) You love legos and have had so much fun building all sorts of fun things. Your favorite activity, though, is playing in the cul de sac with your neighborhood friends! You love the independence and friendships and the opportunity to explore!
You have such a caring spirit! You are always reaching out to the people around you to make them feel needed, loved, and included. At the last parent teacher conference, your teacher showed us a book you wrote about a friend in your class. You had done a great job on the book, but your teacher told us that there was something particularly special about your book: the friend you wrote the book about doesn't talk. When you originally started the book, she thought you had made up the information and she was amazed to find out that you had actually asked tons and tons of yes/no questions to find out all about him. You have been such a good friend to him...it makes my mama heart proud! You have made so many friends here and that has been really fun!
You are so sweet to your sisters! You still know how to position things so they will like them..."You can be the beautiful princess and I will come and rescue you from the evil dragon!" or "Oh you love that movie because it has the beautiful girl in it!" You are willing to play petshops or tea party or princesses, but you definitely dish out your share of brotherly torment and teasing too!
Regardless, they adore you. Each girl has a very special and sweet relationship with you and consider you their very best buddy because you treat them that way. You tend to be patient, patient, patient and then snap, so when you have a bad day there is a lot of crying and time outs, but fortunately that doesn't happen very often.Your little sisters are so lucky to have you as their big brother and they definitely know it!
Missing family has been particularly hard on you because you have been so close to them throughout your life, so when people come to stay with us you are always excited to let them have your room in exchange for playing with you all day long! It is a pretty good deal for everyone (okay, maybe they could live without the 6:00 am wake up calls...).
I am so lucky to have you as my little boy. It is hard to believe that it has already been 7 years since you joined our family! I hope you never get too old to snuggle up to me and give me hugs while we read books. I hope you continue to be so excited about knowing your articles of faith, reading scriptures and saying prayers.
When you jump out of the car at school in the morning, put your arm around your sister to lead her in the door and flash a little sign language "I love you" over your shoulder, it makes my day! Please keep doing that forever! Thank you for helping your mama without complaint, for striving to be your very best self, for learning and growing, and for keeping our home filled with laughter and happiness!
Love you buddy!
Happy Birthday!!
xoxoxo,
Mom!
(p.s. the light in our house is the WORST...sorry for the yellow pictures!)
Saturday, April 21, 2012
seven years in
I was just getting ready to close all the lds.org windows on my computer and neatly stack my lesson materials for tomorrow's young women's lesson when I looked at the time...11:00. And the reality of this day washed over me. Today we have celebrated a little boy's birthday and what a day it has been, swimming, wii, playing outside, going out to dinner, opening gifts, skyping with grandma, yogurtland, phone calls and cards.
A post to adequately sum up Morgan at age 7 and all of the birthday goodness is on my list, but tonight April, 21 at 11:00 pm, my thoughts go back to that moment 7 years ago when I looked into the face of a tiny, perfect little dark haired boy as I took on the role of mother. Since that moment have been 7 years of hard work. Sleepless nights, potty training, emotions and pregnancies and post-partum depression, difficult stages, time outs, fast-food, stinky diapers, stinky play places, sicknesses, hospital stays, ear infections, thousands of dollars on diapers and wipes and clothes and burp cloths and strollers, hurt feelings, exhaustion, enduring the Backyardigans song for the gazillionth time, coloring on the walls...and the carpet...and their arms, so many mischievous scissor mishaps I'm not sure I can count them, wondering if I will ever be able to have a conversation about something not involving kids...and so so much more. It has been 7 years of discovery and learning and fun and adventure. Play-doh, tea parties, building trains, reading books, making car noises, playing in sand, going on adventures, saying prayers, making messes, making noise, school adventures, trips to the zoo, lunches with Grandma, Sunday dinners, celebrations, holidays, memories, parties, pizza nights, dancing in the living room, walks around the neighborhood, conference drives, first steps, first words, silliness, laughter, snuggles, scripture reading, and so so so much love.
And as I look back on it all, I can't help but think of what an amazing 7 years it has been! From that very first moment I looked at my baby boy, I have loved him with every single ounce of my soul! I still have moments often, when I look into his sweet face and just overflow with love for him and his sisters that have come since.
This morning we looked through pictures of that sweet April day, and I couldn't help but picture Chloe and Brynn and Ellie up in heaven huddled together as they watched their big brother start his life on earth. I know they cheered and said, "we'll be there with you soon!"
I love my sweet family. I know I don't show them enough in the day to day stuff. I know I need to be more patient, more present, more flexible, more calm, more intentional. I get overwhelmed and bored and frustrated with the ins and outs of being mommy every day 24/7, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I think they know that. I feel so lucky to have had this job for the last 7 years and to get to keep at it for the rest of eternity...I know the challenges will continue to get harder, but I also know that the rewards will continue to get sweeter and sweeter.
A post to adequately sum up Morgan at age 7 and all of the birthday goodness is on my list, but tonight April, 21 at 11:00 pm, my thoughts go back to that moment 7 years ago when I looked into the face of a tiny, perfect little dark haired boy as I took on the role of mother. Since that moment have been 7 years of hard work. Sleepless nights, potty training, emotions and pregnancies and post-partum depression, difficult stages, time outs, fast-food, stinky diapers, stinky play places, sicknesses, hospital stays, ear infections, thousands of dollars on diapers and wipes and clothes and burp cloths and strollers, hurt feelings, exhaustion, enduring the Backyardigans song for the gazillionth time, coloring on the walls...and the carpet...and their arms, so many mischievous scissor mishaps I'm not sure I can count them, wondering if I will ever be able to have a conversation about something not involving kids...and so so much more. It has been 7 years of discovery and learning and fun and adventure. Play-doh, tea parties, building trains, reading books, making car noises, playing in sand, going on adventures, saying prayers, making messes, making noise, school adventures, trips to the zoo, lunches with Grandma, Sunday dinners, celebrations, holidays, memories, parties, pizza nights, dancing in the living room, walks around the neighborhood, conference drives, first steps, first words, silliness, laughter, snuggles, scripture reading, and so so so much love.
And as I look back on it all, I can't help but think of what an amazing 7 years it has been! From that very first moment I looked at my baby boy, I have loved him with every single ounce of my soul! I still have moments often, when I look into his sweet face and just overflow with love for him and his sisters that have come since.
This morning we looked through pictures of that sweet April day, and I couldn't help but picture Chloe and Brynn and Ellie up in heaven huddled together as they watched their big brother start his life on earth. I know they cheered and said, "we'll be there with you soon!"
I love my sweet family. I know I don't show them enough in the day to day stuff. I know I need to be more patient, more present, more flexible, more calm, more intentional. I get overwhelmed and bored and frustrated with the ins and outs of being mommy every day 24/7, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I think they know that. I feel so lucky to have had this job for the last 7 years and to get to keep at it for the rest of eternity...I know the challenges will continue to get harder, but I also know that the rewards will continue to get sweeter and sweeter.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Chloe is 5!
I feel like we have been celebrating this occasion for almost a month already since we had a party while Grandma Becky was here in early March and that I still have plenty of time to post about her birthday since her party isn't for another 2 weeks. If there ever was a little girl who appreciated this very elongated birthday celebration, it is Chloe at age 5. She has had so much fun with this whole birthday thing. She has LOVED the attention, of course, and has been so excited about every little gift she has received. Even the birthday card from her cousin with a drawing of the 2 of them together made her day!
I have been procrastinating this post because I am just not sure what to say about my little Chloe-o at age 5. She can be a challenge for sure. She digs in her heels and throws tantrums like life is coming to an end. She has complete meltdowns screaming, "I hate you!" because she isn't allowed to wear a church dress to school when it is cold and raining outside or because we are walking to pick Morgan up from school and she wants to drive.
She has gotten rather sneaky too: stealing sips of my Dr. Pepper when I am not in the room and then pretending she was just picking it up to hand it to me when I catch her with it and cutting Brynn's hair in the morning while they are supposed to be eating breakfast. She is constantly picking Ellie up and nearly injuring her, despite the rule that she isn't allowed to touch Ellie without permission. And since this occupies so much of my day, I often wonder if I will survive her childhood.
But on the flip side, she is such a little sweetheart.
If I ever need a self esteem boost, I just have to put on a cute outfit or some fun jewelry and then hang out with Chloe: I know I will hear her say, "You look so beautiful, Mom!" She is caring and compassionate, always thinking about how she can brighten someones day and make them feel happy. She loves people. We cannot go anywhere without her making a new friend and striking up a conversation. She has no regard to age, race, gender, status: she will talk to anyone and tell them all about her life and ask them all about theirs...it is usually adorable, but can also be a little scary.
Chloe loves school. She is an amazing little artist with serious attention to detail. Her favorite thing to do is draw pictures and write letters to people. I amazed at the words she can sound out and read and all of the things she has learned! Her preschool class only has 10 kids in it and she loves all of her preschool friends so much! Last week was our spring break and when she got in my car today after her first day off she said, "I had soooo much fun today Mom!"
She has recently started writing books for fun. She comes up with such creative stories, draws all the pictures, sounds out the words, and writes them. Her stories are very detailed so when she has written a few sentences and starts to get tired, she finds a willing grown up and dictates the rest of the story to them. Then she thinks about who might enjoy her story and sends them off in the mail.
Chloe also loves church. She gets so excited about family home evening, reading scriptures and says the most thoughtful prayers. She loves to have the missionaries over and recite articles of faith and always wants to sing primary songs together. She adores our home teachers and snuggles right up to them when they come.
She is definitely a stylista...she ALWAYS has an opinion about what she wants to wear and it is almost always a dress or a skirt. She loves accessories and combining fun colors and patterns and of course, anything ruffled or sparkly is her favorite. She is really loving her dance class and all of her dance buddies too.
I love to see the way Chloe embraces her role as a sister. Despite being banned from touching Ellie without permission, she loves her baby sister and is always looking out for her. She is the first to recommend a snack or a toy or a game for Ellie and always wants to sit by Ellie at lunch.
Brynn and Chloe are very best buddies. Those two can be entertained for hours and hours with just their imaginations and each other. They have so much fun together and get such enjoyment out of each others' accomplishments. They compliment each other and encourage each other and just love love love each other so much that it makes my heart happy. And then there is the way that Chloe adores her big brother. She loves to play with him and looks up to him so much. Every morning when they hop out of my car and head in to school, they flash me "I love you" in sign language, and then I watch Morgan wrap his arm around his little sister and lead her to the door as they giggle together. She looks at him like he is a superhero and loves that she is big enough to be included in "big kid things" with him.
So to my sweet baby girl on your 5th birthday...you are wonderful! Your passion for life is contagious. You keep us laughing all the time with the things you say, the stories you tell and the wonderful creativity of your imagination. I am still giggling about what you told me today, "They call it Dr. Pepper because if you drink too much of it you have to go to the doctor." ha ha ha ha!
Thank you for loving everyone around you, for leaving people better than you find them and for loving your momma despite her many imperfections. Thank you for still snuggling into my lap to read books and squishing my cheeks to turn my face into a fish face while you give me eskimo kisses. I love how you use big words correctly in your everyday speech and how I had to download the dictionary.com app on my phone so that I could keep up your ever expanding vocabulary. Your sweet and simple faith is inspiring and makes me want to do better and be better as your mommy and stay focused on what matters most. I love to see how quickly you embrace people and turn strangers into friends. You definitely push me to be a better mom and you help me learn to direct your personality and passion into traits that will serve you well in this life so you can become the wonderful woman I know you are going to be. It is a challenge, but I know that it will be worth it! I am so blessed to be your mom. Hugs and kisses baby girl!
Love,
Mom
I have been procrastinating this post because I am just not sure what to say about my little Chloe-o at age 5. She can be a challenge for sure. She digs in her heels and throws tantrums like life is coming to an end. She has complete meltdowns screaming, "I hate you!" because she isn't allowed to wear a church dress to school when it is cold and raining outside or because we are walking to pick Morgan up from school and she wants to drive.
She has gotten rather sneaky too: stealing sips of my Dr. Pepper when I am not in the room and then pretending she was just picking it up to hand it to me when I catch her with it and cutting Brynn's hair in the morning while they are supposed to be eating breakfast. She is constantly picking Ellie up and nearly injuring her, despite the rule that she isn't allowed to touch Ellie without permission. And since this occupies so much of my day, I often wonder if I will survive her childhood.
But on the flip side, she is such a little sweetheart.
If I ever need a self esteem boost, I just have to put on a cute outfit or some fun jewelry and then hang out with Chloe: I know I will hear her say, "You look so beautiful, Mom!" She is caring and compassionate, always thinking about how she can brighten someones day and make them feel happy. She loves people. We cannot go anywhere without her making a new friend and striking up a conversation. She has no regard to age, race, gender, status: she will talk to anyone and tell them all about her life and ask them all about theirs...it is usually adorable, but can also be a little scary.
Chloe loves school. She is an amazing little artist with serious attention to detail. Her favorite thing to do is draw pictures and write letters to people. I amazed at the words she can sound out and read and all of the things she has learned! Her preschool class only has 10 kids in it and she loves all of her preschool friends so much! Last week was our spring break and when she got in my car today after her first day off she said, "I had soooo much fun today Mom!"
She has recently started writing books for fun. She comes up with such creative stories, draws all the pictures, sounds out the words, and writes them. Her stories are very detailed so when she has written a few sentences and starts to get tired, she finds a willing grown up and dictates the rest of the story to them. Then she thinks about who might enjoy her story and sends them off in the mail.
Chloe also loves church. She gets so excited about family home evening, reading scriptures and says the most thoughtful prayers. She loves to have the missionaries over and recite articles of faith and always wants to sing primary songs together. She adores our home teachers and snuggles right up to them when they come.
She is definitely a stylista...she ALWAYS has an opinion about what she wants to wear and it is almost always a dress or a skirt. She loves accessories and combining fun colors and patterns and of course, anything ruffled or sparkly is her favorite. She is really loving her dance class and all of her dance buddies too.
Brynn and Chloe are very best buddies. Those two can be entertained for hours and hours with just their imaginations and each other. They have so much fun together and get such enjoyment out of each others' accomplishments. They compliment each other and encourage each other and just love love love each other so much that it makes my heart happy. And then there is the way that Chloe adores her big brother. She loves to play with him and looks up to him so much. Every morning when they hop out of my car and head in to school, they flash me "I love you" in sign language, and then I watch Morgan wrap his arm around his little sister and lead her to the door as they giggle together. She looks at him like he is a superhero and loves that she is big enough to be included in "big kid things" with him.
So to my sweet baby girl on your 5th birthday...you are wonderful! Your passion for life is contagious. You keep us laughing all the time with the things you say, the stories you tell and the wonderful creativity of your imagination. I am still giggling about what you told me today, "They call it Dr. Pepper because if you drink too much of it you have to go to the doctor." ha ha ha ha!
Thank you for loving everyone around you, for leaving people better than you find them and for loving your momma despite her many imperfections. Thank you for still snuggling into my lap to read books and squishing my cheeks to turn my face into a fish face while you give me eskimo kisses. I love how you use big words correctly in your everyday speech and how I had to download the dictionary.com app on my phone so that I could keep up your ever expanding vocabulary. Your sweet and simple faith is inspiring and makes me want to do better and be better as your mommy and stay focused on what matters most. I love to see how quickly you embrace people and turn strangers into friends. You definitely push me to be a better mom and you help me learn to direct your personality and passion into traits that will serve you well in this life so you can become the wonderful woman I know you are going to be. It is a challenge, but I know that it will be worth it! I am so blessed to be your mom. Hugs and kisses baby girl!
Love,
Mom
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