Besties

Here in our little home on a mountainside in Utah we are fortunate for many things. One of those things being that our Aunt also lives on our mountainside.

She's close enough for Emmy and Jonah to trek down to her house whenever she happens to be home, and they take advantage of that.

Last week, they left as my children. They returned as Thor One and Thor Two.

 Thor Three brought them home. Then she went back to her house and emailed me these pics, for which I think I'm grateful.

 I almost wish I had been there.

Almost.

I think it's important for kids to have adults that they can trust and learn from, other than their parents. 

Adults who can teach them the true meanings of life and the eternities. Adults who can help to shape their future character. And also teach them which super heroes have which powers, and break the news  to them that Vader is Luke's father. 

 Adults who can be models of maturity, responsibility, and good moral values. And also how to remain a child at heart.

In essence, I firmly believe that every child should have an Aunt Katie.

One Last Poll.

Alrighty. I have so many posts that I want to write here concerning the crafting that is happening in our home in preparation for Christmas, but I can't write about it or post photos of it because the craftiness is creating gifts for individuals who read this blog, and it would ruin the Christmas morning surprise. 

*sigh*

So.

To satisfy my need to communicate with the outside world, here is the last photo poll! Of all the photos that my Caleb has taken, one stands out as my favorite of all time, and it's in this bunch. See if you can guess which one it is. I love them all, but this one captures it for me. What ever that elusive "it" is.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

I'm Twenty Nine

One year older and wiser too? Yes, out of default.

I'm one year closer to 30, and that is exciting for me! One more year to work hard and grow up so I can be an adult. Because 30 is the new 20, right?

Where did that saying come from? Why is 20 the new 30? Is it because it's taking us an extra decade to grow up now? And why is that?
It used to be considered young to get married at 14, now young is 21. On the same note, humans used to be really old if they were 60, and now it's 90. We used to enter the workforce in our teens, apprenticing or working on the farm. Now we spend a decade in college and start working that much later. But I digress.

I had a birthday, and it was great.

Tess and her family had stayed the night, and she gifted me with this fantastic pancake breakfast.

The rest of the story, is that Jonah had started throwing up at 4am, and had continued to do so every half hour or so, and she was just waiting for her kids to wake up so she could skip town. Smart girl. 

Bye, sweet family! Sorry about the change of plans! Stay healthy!

When Caleb came home for lunch, we opened the presents that the kids had picked out for me.

Every year Caleb takes the minions to the local stuff-store, and lets them get whatever they want for me. Last year I got green slippers and a dog chain, so naturally I was curious to see what this year would bring.

Millie was chillin on my lap whilst I opened my gifts. Yes, I'm still in my robe. It was that kind of day.

Not a bad haul, right? 

But then. OH then. FedEx arrived. Really, the day for delivery could not have been better. Caleb bought me something that made me cry happy tears, which is his secret goal for every birthday.

He opened it for me because it was huge and heavy and I was holding... something (probably someone), and then he hung it. And I got to watch, which was pleasant for many reasons. (tee hee!)

Isn't it just gorgeous?!
I love it so much. I could go on and on about the brush strokes.

Then he had to scurry back to work and I had to scurry back to empty a puke bowl and change a diaper and take a shower and read some Dr. Seuss and change some sheets and feed some cheerios and brush some teeth and eventually the day was over and they were all asleep and Caleb made me this:

He made me cry with the painting, and it happened again with the candles in the ice cream! 

The tears were a mixture of gratitude and exhaustion. 

It wasn't exactly what I had pictured as the perfect birthday, but you don't always know what perfect really is. I had my kids, I had family, I had so many phone calls and messages.

If the point of celebrating a birthday is so that the one born feels like she is loved, and that the people around her are happy she's there, then it was perfect. I felt loved, very needed (an odd way of realizing, but all the same) and happy to be getting older. 

So to my dear Caleb; thank you. 

Polling post numero duo

There is a reason for all this polling stuff, I guarantee it. And there is more to come. On to round #2!!

Because we're so generous, you can choose three this time. Then tell the person sitting next to you to vote as well, if you want. You're the best. 

Really.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

Answer me this

Hello lovely people, we need your help.

We want to know which of these photos you like the best. As in, can you picture any hanging on a wall? 

See the poll to the right there? See it? See it? Use it! Tell us which two photos you like best!

We appreciate it. You're the best.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

"It's an emergency!"

There's a quote floating around out there, and I can't find it at the moment, and I don't remember it exactly, and I don't know who said it, but I do remember the gist of it.
Isn't my brain capacity just stunning?

Something about listening to the little things your kids say, so that when they're grown they'll tell you the big things.

I've thought a lot about that, and I agree with it completely. I can remember being five years old, and the things that I needed to tell my Mom seemed like the very most important things in the world! And to my tiny little brain, they were.
As it was with me, so it is with my kids.

Let's have an example. A few minutes ago I was in Jonah/Amelia's bedroom, putting her to sleep. The other three were at the table, munching away on their lunches. I told them, before I went in, to not come in unless it was an emergency.

Our ideas of emergency differ greatly.

All was silent in the room. Her eyes had just closed. The door creaks open. It's Jonah. He loudly whispers,  "Mom! It's an emergency!" Her eyes open.
"Ok Jonah, what is it?"

"Emmy was singing a silly song, and then I said 'There's a noodle dancing on the moon!'"

*giggle giggle*

It's a whirlwind around here, but we're having fun.

Progress, and how I need it

Life has its ups and downs, and some of the ups are incredibly high, but life is never, and will never on this mortal earth, be perfect.

 My kids are spastic, strange, and brilliant, and on most days I appreciate them for what they are.

 I aspire to be perfectly patient, to serve perfectly healthy meals, to dress them in clothing that lacks both holes and stains, to welcome them into a perfectly tidy home.

But the truth is, that is rarely-slash-never the case.

My home is usually clean, but rarely tidy. They only dress nicely on Sunday. Sometimes we eat macaroni and cheese for dinner, and sometimes I'm not so patient.

My mantra has been this; I can and should strive for perfection, with the understanding that I will not achieve it.

As long as I am progressing. As long as there is improvement. As long as I'm getting better, rather than worse. As long as that, I am content with myself.

I just need more good moments than bad, and I'm ok. I'm learning a few things, too.

I don't need perfect peace and quiet in order to meditate and ponder. I don't need sparkling baseboards in order to feel accomplished. I don't need them to be perfectly behaved in order to find joy in them.

I've learned that the only reason I ever feel impatient, is because there is something else that feels more important at the moment. When Jonah takes five minutes to buckle his seat belt, I'm only impatient with him because we're late to get somewhere else. When Claire asks me to sing "da Winnie Pooh song" for the 30th time at night, I'm only impatient because of the dishes and laundry that I need to work on. 

 When I am able to realize this, in the moment that it's happening, I'm able to quiet my inner self down. When I'm able to realize that they are more important, I'm ok. I can stay up 20 minutes later and get the dishes washed. Or not.

The more independent they get, the more I'm able to get done around the house. The more independent they get, the less they need me (makes sense, right?). Unfortunately, the less they need me, the less needed I feel. There is no fine balance! There is only the choice of whether or not to be happy. 

 I have finally realized, I don't need perfection.
I can be content, and pleased, with progression.

Two days in the life

This was my yard, just before halloween.

As excited as we are for snow, it's still fall time. Plus we really hadn't had a good day of playing in the leaves! I suppose that's the natural result of having zero trees in your yard. Enter Tess's brand new yard. 

Tada! Wide open lawn complete with fallen crunchy leafy bliss. We went north for a few days to enjoy some family time and get a few errands done.

 Tess and Chuck recently purchased this home, and are vigorously remodeling the inside. Once that is finished, this will basically be the perfect place to live. The exterior is kid heaven!

The neighbors to the west have an apple tree, and the neighbors to the east have all sorts of critters. When the west neighbors get a good pile of sub-perfect apples, they bring them to Lainey and Calvin to deliver to the east neighbor animals. It's workin out pretty good!

 This she-goat was the sweetest thing. I don't think I've ever said that about a goat before, but I've said it now.

 Look at these ponies! They're the funniest creatures ever. Ever.

 Then we walked/toddled/push-biked our way back to Tess's house. Look at this street. Cute, right? So cute.
Oh, and I got a new car. It's that white Sequoia in Tess's driveway (inner squeal of delight!). The van was good to us, and we loved our van years. But I can already tell you, I'm gonna LOVE the family SUV years! We looked for months, but Sequoia's were out of our price range. Then this one popped up for $3000 less than any other one online, because it needed the timing belt changed. We'll take it! Caleb took a few days and did the timing belt himself. Once again, Caleb's mechanic skills have saved the day.
Feeling extremely blessed around here.

Back at the ranch, Tess took Claire to check for eggs.

They found one!
Tess doesn't currently have an oven/stove in her kitchen, so the eggs are starting to pile up. Oh the trials:)

Then, because we're crazy, we took the whole brood to Costco. Partly because we needed food, and partly because it's fun to have a vehicle that we all fit in again.

One cart for food, one cart for kids. I wish I had a video of us making our way through the store. By the looks we were getting from everyone around us, we were entertaining. And we were entertained! These cousins are nuts.

Also, Tess took this photo, then I ran over to where she was standing and she ran over to the kids, and I took another photo. Then she photoshopped herself in. So many points for her.

Then the husbands arrived, terribly exhausted after a long grueling day of fly fishing, and after much hugging and kiss blowing, the two families parted ways.

Guess what we found when we got home to Heber?

Apparently this is what happens to a freezer when it gets left open for two days.