Truth Be Told

Truth be told, this little guy has been giving me a run for my money lately. When he wakes up he looks so snuggly in his footsie pajamas and blonde bedhead that I just want to kiss him a thousand times. But by the time 6 o'clock rolls around, I usually find myself counting down the minutes until bedtime. I think intense is the best word to use to describe my baby boy these days.

Today I found myself saying several silent prayers..."help me discipline him effectively...help me to show him that I love him...help me to find reasons to praise him." Just after putting him to bed this evening I heard him call for me. Resisting the usual urge I get to feel irritated, I slowly opened his bedroom door, put his blankets on him again, and asked him if I could sing him some songs. He often resists whenever I start singing ("NO!! DAVY SING IT!"), but tonight he laid quiet and still as I sang "Twinkle Twinkle" and "I am a Child of God." His deep blue eyes moved back and forth, back and forth across my face as I held his chubby hands in mine. I know he probably won't remember our special little moment in the morning, and certainly not in the years to come, but it was one of those times that I just wanted to bottle up.

And I hope those little hands of his stay chubby for a long time.

Thankful for:

Ryan is thankful for:

• Cinnabon cereal
• my beautiful wife and the time she spends on our family blog
• my kids
• ESPN 3
• Diet Dr. Pepper

Sara is thankful for:

• making pies with my sister and mama. Tears were shed when she left today but thanks to my baby sister's engagement (whoot-whoot!) we will all be together in Utah early next year. February in Utah never sounded so sweet.
• Modern Family and Up all Night. Two most hilarious sitcoms on TV.
• my super-awesome better half and the fact that he'll participate in blogs like this even though he'd rather just watch ESPN 3 on the one night he came home early this week.
• my 3 fun kids and all they teach me about life.
• Picnik.com. My sister recently introduced me to this gem of a photo-editing website. It's photo editing for people who don't know how to edit photos. Helps me make my mediocre photos look a little less mediocre. I am loving experimenting with all the cool effects. My only problem is that now I have the uncontrollable urge to edit every photo I've ever posted on this blog.

 Isaac is thankful for:

• Maddie
• popsicles
• race cars
• Lightning McQueen

Maddie is thankful for:

• princesses
• lollipops
• treats
• all my family

I

If Davis knew what gratitude meant, I think he would say he's thankful for:

• Yo Gabba Gabba (Finally! TV will entertain him!)
• shoes
• books ("po favo, weed a book, mom?")
• yogurt and applesauce
• high fives and hugs ("a hug, a hug" he will say multiple times a day with his arms outstretched)
• cars, tractors, airplanes, and trains.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One Crazy Year and a BIG Thank You

One of the many perks of living with an award-winning photographer is that she is willing to take family pictures for you even though she just did it a month before. I love the way these turned out. Thank you, Becky! There are too many favorite pics for one post, so here are just a few:

When they annoy each other as teenagers this is the picture I'm going to pull out.

Our family is once again over a thousand miles apart, with the kids and I in Utah and Ryan in Wisconsin. My mom flew out to Colorado this past Thursday to help me drive back to Utah with the kids (now that's the love of a mother--she never even saw the sun in colorful Colorado. It was such a quick trip just so I wouldn't have to travel alone with three young kids). I must say that I hate the feeling of having my family go in separate directions and knowing that we will be apart for an extended period of time. We headed West on I-80 and Ryan headed East. It will be nice to be back together again, and hopefully this time we spend apart will fly by as quickly as time flew while we were together.

Our goofy-faced picture

This past year our family has been on the receiving end of so much help, it's overwhelming. So many family members and friends have helped us so much. We couldn't have done it without you! Thanks just isn't adequate but we hope to be able to be the kind of people that you have been to us and somehow return the favor one day. 

I joke about being a "single mom" while Ryan is away on his externships, but the reality of my life is that I have never had to do any of this child-rearing stuff alone. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and friends have all stepped up to the plate and helped me so much without even being asked. They just see a need and take care of it. Thank you so much for that. I feel like Heavenly Father is watching over our little family and answering our prayers through you during this crazy time in our lives. 

Thankful for our Little Village

Image swiped from Google

I'm pretty sure I've never been as sick in my entire life as I have the past two weeks, and most especially the past 4 or 5 days. I won't bore you with all the gross symptoms, but I will say that I never knew something as simple as the common cold could totally wipe me out for so long. Apparently they are hard to shake when you are 3 weeks from giving birth. I'm slowly but surely feeling a little bit better every day, so hopefully I'm past the worst of it.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that proverb has never hit home for me more than in these past two weeks. So many people have done so much for me and my children. I don't know how we would have survived without them. More than anyone, Ryan has taken over just about everything. I would embarrass him if I went into great detail about all the extra work he has taken on (he's not much for being the center of attention, even in a blog post), but I will just say, once again, that I am one smart girl for marrying him and I pray our daughter(s) follow in my footsteps and marry someone as kind and selfless as him.

Our family has also been so supportive with daily phone calls to check up on me and the kids and reassure me that things would get better (and they have). It has meant so much. My children, considering they have received way more attention from the television than they have from me lately, have been little angels.

And have I mentioned that we are surrounded by some of the best and most considerate people in the world here in Iowa? I couldn't ever hope for better friends than we have here in the Midwest. Let me just tell you about some of the ways they have shown they care over the past two weeks:

• Bringing flowers
• Bringing my favorite chocolate
• Countless offers to take my children for play dates or OB appointments or just so I could rest
• Lending humidifiers
• Bringing cool toys for my kids to play with since we were stuck inside for way too long and getting major cabin fever
• Delivering treats to our family
• Taking care of church responsibilities for me without even being asked so I wouldn't have to worry about it
• Insisting on bringing dinners, even when I told them it wasn't necessary
• Coming over at a moment's notice to stay with our kids so Ryan could take me to the doctor
• Making my son a special cake for his birthday, knowing that I wouldn't have the energy to do it myself
• Offering to give me a pedicure (I totally need cute toes for when I give birth, right?)
• Taking over my week of teaching preschool
• Offering to take awesome before (aka pregnant belly) and after (aka newborn babe) pics of me and my kids (we're holding off on this one until my eyes are no longer bloodshot and I don't look like the walking dead)

I cannot say enough how watched over and cared for I have felt over the past couple of weeks, as difficult and trying as the days and nights have been. I am so thankful for the little village that my growing family is surrounded by.

My Greatest Blessing

Every day I am thankful to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It is my greatest blessing----I don't know where I would be without it and every other blessing I have been given stems from it. I am especially thankful for the knowledge that families can be together forever. Knowing this brings me peace and happiness.

Isaac Mitchell

Isaac with his cousin, Eleanor, at the Omaha Zoo

I got a couple of days behind on my thankful posts, but I think with this one I'm caught up.

I'm so thankful for Isaac. He keeps me busier now than he ever has, and there is never a dull moment with him around. I sure do love this little guy. He has a big imagination and an even bigger heart. Today he told me that Lightning McQueen is his best friend. I won't even try to compete with that, but maybe I could be tied with his dad for second place...

Tomorrow

I'm thankful that Maddie gets to rid herself of this cast tomorrow. Our little champ even figured out how to walk in her new leg (and climb on chairs, and climb on kitchen tables, and dive off of sofas head first, and bounce up and down on recliners...heaven help her and me).

Cousins

Today I am thankful that my children have had cousins to play with this past week. They don't get to see each other very often, but when they do it's always fun to see them together.

Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful to be able to spend Thanksgiving with family. We are really enjoying having Gavin, Becky, Eleanor, and Katie here in Iowa with us. Every time we go somewhere, Isaac asks me "Does Ellie get to come back to our house with us?" He loves having her as his constant playmate. We have a lot to be thankful for... Including a whole pie per adult in the apartment. I like those odds. We ate apple, French Silk, Fresh strawberry, and pumpkin.

Happy Birthday "D"!

I am thankful everyday for my dad. Today is his birthday and I've planned for a week to post today about all the reasons why I'm thankful for him. Then, my younger sister beat me to it on her own blog and wrote a sticky sweet post about him that I won't even try to compete with (I knew I should have blogged early this morning...).

I will say that he has always been there for me to support me in everything I do. Even living a thousand miles from him, we still chat at least once a week. He is fun, witty, kindhearted, dedicated, and generous. His family is more important to him than anything else. I love you, Dad!

Thanksgiving Messgage

I'm thankful for this video that Ryan's dad emailed to me last night. It's worth 5 minutes of your time, I promise. After a long and exhausting day, it was an answer to my prayers. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Apartment Living

Today I'm thankful for our apartment. I have been known to daydream of a house of our own and complain about living in a small space (my husband can attest to it) . Today I thought of all the reasons why living in an apartment is so great. This is what I came up with:

• It only takes me a couple of hours to clean the entire apartment--bathrooms, floors, kitchen, and all.
• Because we share a washer and dryer with 11 other apartments, there are two washers and two dryers in the laundry room. Two loads at once means I get laundry done twice as fast.
• We pay very little to keep the place cool in the summer and practically nothing to keep it warm in the winter.
• I am convinced that, because my children share a room, they are better sleepers than they would have been if I had the space to separate them (and believe me, I would have separated them--remember my post about Isaac jumping in Maddie's crib? Enough said).
• There are six other families in our complex that we consider good friends. It is so nice to have so many people we can count on living so close, and I never have a problem finding help if I need anything from any of them.

My BFF

I am thankful to be married to my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Fireworks in December

Today I am thankful for nights out with the family.

Last night we went to a local tree-lighting ceremony with some friends. It was a crisp 45 degrees outside--but nothing some winter coats and hats couldn't take care of. There was a live band, eggnog, Santa, and even fireworks.

These are Special Times

Today, I am thankful for Christmas music.

Until this year, I was an avid believer that Christmas music should begin the day after Thanksgiving and end on Jan. 2nd.

Until this year.

I have been listening to Christmas music for the past week or so and it gets me so excited for the holiday season. I love this time of year! I get especially nostalgic when I listen to Celine Dion's Christmas album, These are Special Times. My sisters and I LOVED this CD growing up, and while I don't own any other Celine music, this one is a favorite. In fact, it was an approved cd on my mission so my mom sent me a copy of it and I ended up giving it away because it distracted me and made me think of home too much. Listening to it now just makes me happy.

Now, with the beauty of Pandora, I can streamline Christmas music through my computer to my heart's content. This year, Michael Buble's holiday album is becoming a fast favorite.

Bring on the holidays!

Sticky Face

Today I am thankful for this little spunky girl, sticky face and all.

The other day Maddie saw a picture of Santa for the first time and exclaimed, "Mira! Jesus!" (Look! Jesus!)

I think the facial hair throws her off a little, because she said it again yesterday when she saw Santa in the mall.

Here's a short clip of Maddie trying to get around in her cast. She seems determined to walk with it, but as you will see, can't exactly balance for more than a split second on it.

Friends Indeed

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I have been thinking a lot about all of the blessings in my life. I had ambitions of blogging about a different blessing each day during the month of November, but that never came to fruition--starting on the 18th of the month is better than never starting at all, right? Well today I am thankful for wonderful friends. All my life I have been blessed with great friends. Friends who are loyal, trustworthy, uplifting, and just fun to be around. Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you are one of them.

Most recently I have felt an outpouring of love from friends. As I have mentioned before, the first half of this pregnancy has been challenging for me. Many friends have been there for me with encouraging words, phone calls, shoulders to cry on, ears to complain to, offers to baby sit my children, invites to activities, play dates, lunch dates, and even meals for my family (seriously, you know you have amazing friends when they bring you dinner BEFORE you give birth). I count them as some of my greatest blessings.

I've been Thinking...

I just love the way Isaac and Maddie are looking at each other in this picture.

Lately I have had a lot of things remind me about the blessings of being a mother of young children. I will be the first to admit that it can be a very trying and very tiring work, but more and more I am given little reminders about how grateful I should be for the opportunity to do exactly what I'm doing. Here are some examples:

• I read a blog entry written the other day by a woman who had been in a horrible accident. She is currently going through some very painful rehabilitation. She talked about one day being able to fix dinner for her family again. That was her wish! It is so easy for me to consider fixing dinner just another job I have complete on my "to do list." I have been trying to look at it as a privilege instead.
• My kids are getting to the age where they are really starting to enjoy each other. No, not all the time, but there are little moments every once in awhile. Isaac can make Maddie laugh and it is one of the sweetest sounds in the whole world to me. I still can't believe these children are mine.
• I have so many great examples that I look up to, from mothers to sisters to friends. I want to be more like you and am so thankful to be able to learn from you. I really feel like my little family is right where it should be right now. We are surrounded by so many positive examples (even though some of you are a thousand miles away) and you all buoy me up and make me want to do better. I want you to know that.
• Although my day to day job as a stay-at-home mom isn't the easiest thing I've ever done (by far the hardest, actually), I am really enjoying it. I haven't always been able to say that (think times of pregnancy). I have thought a lot about where I would be and what I would be doing if I could do anything, and I really feel like I'm living the dream right now!---here in Des Moines, Iowa--poor students in a dumpy, 2-bedroom apartment with a husband in podiatry school and me, a stay-at-home mom. Who would have ever guessed?
• Ryan's mom has a saying, "Motherhood is not for wimps!" and I couldn't agree more. There are moments when I definitely feel too wimpy for this work, but there are also days when I feel like my children are only going to be kids for a short while, and I want to enjoy it as much as I can. I want to be able to look back on these times when they were so little and have fond memories and few regrets.
• As scary as these times are (and they really are scary), I am so grateful for the knowledge of a bigger plan and an eternal perspective, and a loving husband who helps keep me grounded and helps me achieve my goals. He is definitely my better half and being around him makes me want to be a better person.

Worth It

Lately Isaac has been struggling with screaming--as in, he screams all the time.

When he's happy, when he's sad, when he wants the toy you're playing with...all the time.

While I have been reassured by friends and family alike that this is a phase many children go through--and that he will, in fact, grow out of it---it can still be frustrating.

The other day (after a full morning of screaming) I wanted to scream back at him "STOP SCREAMING!" but the logical part of my brain told me that it wouldn't be very effective.

I had a moment a couple of days ago that made all my trials of motherhood thus far (including the screaming) totally worth it, and I wanted to document it before I forget.

Maddie and Isaac had been sleeping for just over an hour when I heard Maddie crying. I thought I would sneak in and get her before she woke up her older brother.

I opened the door as quietly as possible and peaked inside.

I was too late.

Isaac, who hadn't noticed me, was standing up in his crib right next to Maddie's (the cribs are set up end to end).

He kept saying to her, over and over, "What's wrong Maddie, huh? What's wrong?"

She stopped crying and started smiling and cooing at him. He then proceeded to play peek-a-boo with her. They were both smiling and giggling and still had no idea that I was there.

I rushed to find the camera in hopes of getting a little video clip of the situation. Instead of pushing the record button, I accidentally hit the "snap a picture" button.

The flash went off and I was caught.

Isaac looked up at me and smiled and said "CHEESE!"

Nap time ended then and there, but it was totally worth it.

Very Fortunate

Yesterday I took the kids with me when I went to vote. As I entered the elementary school where I was assigned to cast my ballot, I struggled to get the double stroller through the doors because the door frame was only about 1/4 inch wider than the stroller.

"How many kids have you got in there?!" barked the woman at the voting counter.

"Just two." I replied

I get that a lot. People commenting on the close age gap between my children. The most common response I hear is, "Boy, you've sure got your hands full, now don't you?" While this is true (I literally do have my hands full most of the time), I love having my kids close together. I have never regretted it (aside from a few weeks of agony during my pregnancy with Maddie, but I wasn't exactly sane during that period of my life). I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

When it was my turn to vote, I pulled the stroller up next to the voting booth. As I was filling in the little bubbles on my ballot, another woman approached Isaac and Maddie and was talking to them. When I finished she asked me, "Now, the little boy is older than the little girl, right?"

"Yes," I replied, "By 15 months."

"Oh! My two children were 15 and a half months apart and I loved it! But that was 50 years ago!" she gushed. After pausing for a moment, she looked at me and said, "You are very fortunate."

Indeed I am.