O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

I'm grateful for...

1. Our earnest attempts to get our Christmas tree tonight. We always get a real tree. Usually we get it the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year, however, Bobby was on call and it was a busy call weekend so we didn't have time. We decided to make it our Monday night family home evening activity. The Christmas tree farm that is 25 minutes away and boasts visits from Santa and model trains is only open on weekends. I didn't want to wait, so we decided to hop on over to our local "Christmas tree farm" in the Lowe's garden center.

Just before we left, however, Bobby dropped his cell phone in a cooler of water (melted ice from Thanksgiving for fridge over flow space). The speakers stopped working then the touch screen went out. His cell phone is also his pager for the hospital, so it's crucial that he has it. Bobby headed straight for the Verizon store and I loaded the kids up and went to Lowe's. We oohed and aahed at all the Christmas blow up displays and lawn ornaments until Bobby met us there.

We picked out the perfect tree while the kids each found a tractor to play on. Back at home, Liam helped Bobby trim the lower boughs and get the tree in the tree stand. Then I helped Bobby with the painstaking task of getting the tree in perfect upright position. When everything finally looked good, we filled the tree stand with two big pitchers of water. I assigned Liam with the very important task of checking the water level every day. He asked me if that would require him to wake up early in the morning? I laughed and said, "No." He breathed a sigh of relief and readily accepted his assignment. Lillian volunteered to be the daily needle sweeper. Sydney wisely stayed quiet.

Pretty soon, however, it became obvious that water was leaking onto the floor. It appeared as though there was a small hole in the bottom of the tree stand. Bobby quickly lifted the entire tree up, water-filled stand and all, and maneuvered it across the room and out the door. The kids and I frantically followed behind with towels to wipe the spilled water up off the wood floors.

For now, our poor Christmas tree is still sitting on the front porch waiting to come in. We'll have to figure it out tomorrow because Bobby is already zonked out on the couch. All I can say is, we tried!





2. Liam's Magnatile creations. Today he made a tower slide and a floating dock.

3. Silly faces in Photo Booth. I love this on the iPads. You can make some pretty goody pictures with the different features. The kids and I did chipmunk faces on Lilly's last night, and today Liam and I sat the couch and took some ridiculously funny photos.

4. Cami's new little toofer! She's been drooling and gnawing for months and she's finally cutting her first tooth! Bobby felt it during church yesterday when she bit him! It's the bottom tooth on the right. So exciting!

5. Pizza Monday. Sydney forgot her lunch box at home today. Since we live 50 minutes from the school, I can't exactly run there real quick and drop it off for her. Her teacher assured me that Sydney would be taken care of and wouldn't go hungry. Relieved my worried Mom heart. When she got home, Sydney have me the lunch report. One of her classmates typically gets pizza on Mondays, but today she packed her lunch. Since lunches have to be purchased ahead of time, her pizza had already been bought and was available at lunch. This classmate gave her lunch ticket to Sydney so she could have the pizza instead. Lilly said she shared some of her lunch with Sydney also (the school is small, so the entire lower school eats in the cafeteria at the same time). I'm grateful for kind teachers, classmates, and big sister who took care of Sydney today!

There is beauty all around

I'm grateful for...

1. The smell of sawdust and fresh cut oak

2. The reflection of trees and clouds in the river and their natural, soothing colors

3. Venus shining bright in the sky

4. The Great Horned Owl that hoots in our trees

5. The bald eagle that perched on the highest tree in our yard yesterday

6. A backyard to explore

7. Tree swings on long ropes

8. The dried leaves that blow off our roof and swirl around like a leafy blizzard outside the window

Simple Things

Today I'm thankful for

1. Crunchy Lo Mein noodles on my salad

2. The grassy hill across the street in the neighbor's yard that all the neighborhood kids like to roll and slide down

4. Cami's smiles and giggles, and how happy they make everyone around her

5. Bobby coming home before lunch time and having the rest of the day off

6. Liam's love for this small house. He woke up crying this morning because he said he was going to miss it when we move. Lillian got him out of bed when she heard him crying, and she carried him into my room to be with me while I was nursing Cami.

7. The way Liam calls Cami "Cams" and how he jumps up and down around her declaring how cute she is

8. Watching Sydney ride her bike and her scooter, and watching her catch fireflies

9. Bobby's willingness to change a poopy diaper and hold our crying baby or take her on walks down the street to get her to fall sleep

10. Friendship, love, compassion and hugs

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Naps

2. Sunshine

3. Neighbors who love holding Cami

4. A husband who finished taking boards yesterday! It's nice having a husband again, and the kids say Dad is "fun again." :-)

6. The blooming rhododendron bush next to our porch

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I'm thankful for...

1. My four beautiful children who call me Mom- for their love, affection, their beautiful blue eyes, their smiles and laughs, their hugs, their questions, and their endless imaginations. They challenge me in new ways every day and they help me be a better person with each moment. There are still moments when I look at them and time stops for a split second and my heart skips a beat. I'm so in love with them and so grateful to call them mine.

2. My mom. The more mothering I do, the more I realize how hard her job was and how good she was (and still is) at it. I've come to understand and appreciate all that she sacrificed and struggled with to raise us. I'm still in awe at the love and compassion that she always shows and I hope to emulate that amazing trait about her.

3. My mother in law. She raised an amazing son who is faithful, hard working and intelligent, and who I am grateful to call my husband. I'm grateful to her for accepting me into her family with open arms and for all the support she gives us.

4. My own private Mother's Day concert from the kids. I missed the songs they sang during church today, which totally broke my heart. Sydney even went up to sing which is a really brave thing for her to do. They knew I was really sad about it, so before dinner Bobby lined the kids up in front of me and led them in singing the Mother's Day song. I soaked it all up and cried. I loved hearing their little voices sing and seeing the big smiles on their faces and getting big hugs and kisses from them afterwards.

4. The delicious dinner Bobby cooked tonight. He grilled salmon and made my favorite pineapple-lime rice with cilantro. I'm so grateful for a husband who can cook!

5. The yellow flower that Liam gave to me. He said he found it on the bathroom floor at church. Delightful!

6. Priesthood blessings. Bobby's home teacher came over tonight to give him a blessing before he takes boards this week. He's been studying hard and trying his best to prepare. I know he's stressed about it. We've all been praying for him and I'm grateful that the blessing could give him the confidence and comfort he needed.

7. Sleep. As I've been writing most of this, Cami has been refusing to go to sleep. Her wide awake time is 9pm until 11pm. This is not conducive to getting anywhere near a good night's sleep, particularly with two night/early morning feedings to do. I've come to realize how much my body relies on sleep and how much better I feel and act when I actually get enough of it. So on that note I'm going to bed. Bobby has Cami and hopefully she'll decide it's time to sleep, too.