So that I Remember...

Every night, as part of his bedtime routine, Nathan asks me (or Ryan) the following question: "Will you hold me like a baby and sing me 'Twinkle, Twinkle' (with Ryan he always chooses 'Take me out to the Ball Game')?" How can I refuse that request? After the song he always asks us to tell him a story about dinosaurs. He oohs and ahhs with every detail. The dinosaurs in my stories are always nice to their siblings and they LOVE vegetables. I have to get a moral in there somewhere, right?

He might need therapy when he's older because I won't let him grow up, but in the meantime I am really enjoying my last little one being little for a while longer.

Winter Update

I have a love/hate relationship with Instagram. I love it because it helps me stay connected to faraway friends and family, and it has even helped me meet a few "instie friends" that I really admire and would have otherwise never gotten the chance to "know." But the truth is it is also the number one reason why this blog has been pushed to the back burner. Instagram is easy! It's fast! Friends comment right away! But it's also a time sucker, a distraction, and can occasionally bring out FOMO (fear of missing out) feelings if I let it. I feel like I really have to make a conscious effort to balance my social media intake and make it worthwhile and not a waste of precious time. And hopefully I can give a little more time to this blog as I work that all out. Because really and truly, at the risk of sounding dramatic, this little piece of internet is one of my most prized possessions. It does in fact hold the memories of my time with those that mean the most to me. 

January has been an interesting month. The very beginning of it brought some stress and a little bit of heartache as the home purchase that we were so close to making fell through. It was our decision--we backed out at the last minute because we found out about a slew of undisclosed problems and it scared the pants off of us. I am SO very glad we found this information out in the nick of time. And I'm just a little bit (ok a lot bit) disappointed that the home didn't end up being all we hoped it would be. I'm certain everything will work out--it always does, but I would be lying if I said I don't get a little bit anxious when I think about where we will be living when our lease is up in a couple of months. Rentals aren't exactly plentiful in our neck of the woods, and I don't want to buy a home that I don't love just because there aren't any other good options. I do realize that in the grand scheme of things, this is a peanut-sized problem, and I try to remind myself of that on the daily. So does God. I have dear friends both near and far dealing with much bigger trials: Sick babies that haven't even been born yet, marital problems, health problems, and cancer scares to name a few. Writing down just those few things makes me realize how hard life can be and how we just need to do our very best to be kind, and to teach our children to be kind. How is that for stream of consciousness? 

So here is a little picture update of some of our most recent happenings:

Spending my days with this little guy is just the best. Except when it's not, but we'll focus on all the times when it is, because that's what I want to remember. He wants to help me with everything (EVERYTHING!) from washing dishes to making dinner to flushing the toilet (no privacy. NONE). In fact, when I do one of these activities without him and he finds out, feelings of resentment usually result. He says the best one-liners, like, "Oops! wooks wike I'm poopy!" or "How 'bout we snuggle and watch Wild Kratts?", or my personal favorite that he announced to a stranger in the grocery store yesterday morning, "My mom wuvs me SOOOOOO much!" It's true. I do. SOOOO MUCH!

I was sitting across from him, watching him build with these tiles right before this picture was taken. All of a sudden I realized he was mimicking how I was resting my head in my hands. And I had to document it. 

Maine shines brightest in the summer and fall, but even in the dead of winter she is still pretty beautiful. 

My older kids go through waves in regard to how well they get along. To be honest, Summer break usually brings out the worst in them, Can you really blame them? They spend all day every day together, so of course they are going to get irritated with one another often. But Nathan always seems to be in good favor with every single one of them. He rarely does anything less than adorable in their eyes, and they are far more patient with him then they are with each other. I willingly admit that I baby my baby, but if he needs therapy when he's older because he's been doted on too much, I won't be the only one at fault. 

When Maddie sees windows like this she says, "Look Mom! It's Jack Frost!" This winter has been cold, but nothing in comparison to some of our winters in Iowa and even Connecticut. I've been told countless times that this is a very very mild winter for Maine, but I'll take it. So mild, in fact, that our little area is experiencing mild panic--there is a huge yearly Toboggan Festival (happening next weekend) that attracts visitors from all over the country and even the world. Apparently they are making snow like crazy because almost all of it has melted, and the Toboggans, which usually slide out onto the big lake, have nowhere to go after they exit the track because it has't been cold enough to freeze the lake! 

Twinning. 

Sometimes I'm a complainer and I like to talk about how I just can't wait to be settled in a house of our own and paint our walls whatever color we want and not move again for a really long time. But when I looked at our door this past December, littered with Christmas cards, and I couldn't help but feel overwhelming gratitude for all the wonderful people I get to call friends. Ryan counted, and we were sent Christmas cards from 15 different states this year. I think that's pretty cool. We never would have had the opportunity to meet many of these people if we hadn't lived in so many places. The past 10 years have been really good to us. 

We spent last Saturday afternoon sledding with some friends at their farm. They had a small plastic snowboard and Maddie really go into it. I love how she looks in this picture, so confident and happy. It was such a fun day for all of our kids. 

These are the faces of pure joy. Every time Nathan rode down the hill, he would holler "Wooo-hoooo!" as he flew by. It might have been one of the greatest days of his young life. 

Ryan has officially been indoctrinated into the Maine culture. Look at those boots!

My friend Michelle was so good to all of my kids while we sledded down her hill and popped her tubes and cracked her sleds. She is a great example to me of how to love other people's children. She really has a gift for bringing out the best in them. 

Our First Christmas in Maine

I have noticed a pattern in myself each year as the holidays approach. A week or two before Christmas I get extremely homesick, wondering what on earth we are doing living in Iowa/Connecticut/Arizona/Maine. I dream of dropping everything and flying the family home to Utah to recreate the childhood Christmas of my dreams. Which, of course, isn't possible and doesn't really exist anywhere but my memory. 

This year was no exception. I did make a more concerted effort to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, listening to Christmas devotionals and simplifying this crazy time of year as much as I could. It really did help. But I still found myself wishing we could be with family as Christmas Eve crept closer. But then those feelings of loneliness and longing went away (they always do) and, despite having a few isolated moments of missing family, we had a really wonderful holiday. 

The hospital where Ryan works put on a great holiday party for employees and their families. They really catered it to children, complete with face-painting, crafts, cookie-making, and Santa.

The entire family driving a gingerbread car at the resort where the party was held. 

Talking Santa's ear off.

A couple of days before Christmas, Isaac got new glasses and Maddie got a new smile. Both of them are pretty proud of their new looks. 

On Christmas Eve morning, the energy in the house was through the roof with excitement. Since it was 55 degrees outside, I finally banished the kids to the yard so they could run off their anticipation. I caught Nathan in this picture drinking a bottle of sprinkles. Heaven help me. 

Google's Santa tracker was a big hit.

Hands down, my favorite part of Christmas Eve was watching how excited the kids got when they gave the gifts they had made/purchased to one another. Maddie typed this letter in school for Isaac. 

One of our Christmas Eve traditions is watching a slideshow with pictures of our year that I put together. Its' always worth all the work when I see how excited the kids get as they remember the memories we've made throughout the year. 

We started a new tradition this Christmas Eve by attending the evening service of a local Baptist church down the street from our home. Some friends invited us to watch their children perform in the Nativity and many friends/neighbors from the community where there. It was a really sweet program that I hope we can make a tradition. The only time I got nervous (really, really nervous) was when they lit candles one by one as we all sang Silent Night together. Davis leaned over to me and said, "I've never been this close to fire before!" Ryan and I both imagined the headlines of the local paper: "Mormon Children Burn Down Baptist Church on Christmas Eve." Luckily no hymn books were set ablaze during the carol singing. 

And Christmas morning was everything I hoped it would be and more. The kids were thrilled with their presents (a wii! it was a dream come true!) and everyone got along great for at least a couple of hours. :)
We were able to talk to family and I admit that I missed being close to them, but overall I felt so grateful to have such a wonderful, loving family. 

A Few of My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my most recent favorite things. I can't call myself a true friend and keep these goodies from you:

This book by Philip Stead (Author of "A Sick Day for Amos McGee") is such a sweet book about change and friendship. I love it. 

This beanie means I don't have to do my hair unless I want to for the next 4 months. I have it in olive and beige and I wish I had every other color as well. You can get them here on Amazon for less than $10. Boom.

Confession: My exercise clothes are pretty stinky (read: unbearably stinky). I have tried lots and lots of detergents and nothing has worked to get them clean and fresh except for Downy Fresh Protect. At the risk of sounding dramatic, this stuff has changed my life. I add it along right to the load with my regular detergent. And the best news is that it only takes about 1/3 of a cap full to get my clothes smelling great. I love this stuff. 

These honey mints from Trader Joe's have only three ingredients: honey, chocolate liquor, and peppermint extract. Everyone in my family loves them. Like a peppermint patty, but fancier. 

General Conference a couple of months ago might have been my most favorite conference ever. President Uchtdorf''s talk was one of my faves. 

And this quote by Sister Stephens brings me so much hope and comfort when I get bogged down by my weaknesses and imperfections. I love it. 

An Update for My Poor, Neglected Blog

Hello?

Anybody out there?

I've neglected this poor blog over the past year. Neglect due partially to Instagram and partially to the fact that I don't have to spend nearly as many nights alone (not complaining, not complaining. Residency, I do not miss you. I'm just acknowledging the fact that you did give me ample time to put all my lonely energy into updating our little life on this internet space). Now that we got that out of the way, in no particular order, here are some of the visual documentations of our life over the past month or so:

Every once in awhile, we get a really spectacular sunset. This particular night Maddie took this picture of our backyard. 

Gobble Gobble! I've never been a huge fan of Walmart but I must say that, given it's the only big box store within an hour of us, it makes shopping so much easier.

I just love Davis' kindergarten teacher. So does he. This drumstick headdress that they made during the week of Thanksgiving makes me love her even more.

Santa arrived by boat via the Coast Guard last weekend. We were there to greet him. 

We ran into Ryan's coworker while waiting for Santa last weekend and she offered to snap a picture of the two of us together. In a small town, you run into people you know A LOT. It's one of the things I love about this place. 

Last weekend we spent Saturday doing "Christmas-y" stuff. The art museum downtown hosts a big Christmas party each year and opens it up to the public. We decorated cookies, saw a model train exhibit, and took a horse-drawn wagon ride. I love this time of year. 

Cookie decorating at the art museum. That face!

More cookies! The Apple Jack eyes are my fave.

We took the kids to a Christmas parade of lights last weekend downtown. I have to laugh when I think about it. I mean, a parade of lights for Christmas at Disneyland in California? I get that. A parade of lights in Maine in December? Outside?Whose idea was that?? Lobsters in lights were abundant.

Isaac's class at school got to participate in an art program where they worked with a bunch of different mediums. Here he and his partner are explaining the process that they went through to create their work of art. One of the things that I love about Maine and particularly our county is that it attracts many artists, writers, and creative minds in general. Something about being close to nature fosters creativity. It's pretty cool. Because of this, there are more opportunities to explore art, meet local artists, and participate in programs like the one Isaac just completed at school. 

Isaac and I went to the Nutcracker together last week when I got to be a chaperone for his class field trip. It will be a really sad day when they ask me to stop coming to stuff like this. 

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake graced our Thanksgiving table this year. This dessert almost ended up on our kitchen floor right after this photo was taken, but somehow I saved it (the shirt I was wearing did not survive, however. It turns out that chocolate ganache doesn't come out of cotton very easily). 

I've been really trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas this year. For the sake of my children, but also for myself. It is so easy to get caught up in the stress of the season. The LDS Church has released several videos about Christmas and watching them each day, along with listening to the First Presidency Christmas Devotionals from years' past, has helped remind me of what is most important about this time of year. 

"Mom, can I take a selfie of us looking at each other?" I got to be Maddie's date to the movies the other night. She chose "The Good Dinosaur." I love this girl so very much. Sometimes I just look at her and can't imagine what my life would be like without her in it. She doesn't have any sisters but at least we have each other. And I love telling her that she is my favorite daughter. 

I see this red boat in the harbor every morning when I head home from my early morning workout. I just had to take a picture of it on this particular day. Seeing the ocean on the daily never gets old.

The sun sets in Maine just before 4pm this time of year. I'm not going to lie---this limited daylight we are currently experiencing really zaps my energy! I need more vitamin D!

Isaac learned to ice skate this fall through a series of field trips to the local rink. Ice skating skills really come in handy around here. Photo credit: Christine Miller. 

 There you have it: our life in pictures, or more accurately put, a tiny part of our life in pictures. I look at Ryan quite often and tell him that I just can't believe we have it so good. It's not perfect but there are so many things to be grateful for.