what went on when i was gone

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Jimmy’s mom and sister are here helping with the kids while we’re recuperating from having Eliza. It’s so nice to know we have someone to watch the kids 24/7 when I’m in the hospital for a week. I hear lots of stories from the kids, but it was fun to copy the photos from Terry’s camera. I got lots of chuckles when I saw some of what they did. Grandma took them on fun adventures to a park and they got to see Lisa and Danielle from Florida. They picked some carrots form the garden (“Mom, there were like 100 carrots that we picked!). Time with Koda (since when do my kids love dogs?)

Some of my favorites that made me laugh:

I’m really grateful for Terry and Christine and all they are doing to help us out. Today Terry asked what major chore I’d like done. Windows came to mind. They are always on my wishful thinking to do list. Well… now I keep thinking my vision has improved, but really, the windows are just clean. What a great view! Thanks for helping so much and keeping us going until I recuperate a bit more.

positive family time

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i have no photos to show of our pleasant evening yesterday. i’m too lazy and huge to want to go find the camera. some moments we capture in our mind and heart… only my brain doesn’t remember things very well these days, so journaling becomes an important thing.

for supper we had french dip with corn on the cob. easy-peasy-lemon-squeasy. jimmy made it. and i don’t think we had any crying or much whining during dinner (at least it was minimal). even hannah commented that we were having such a nice dinner as a family.

we might still be a happy family.

the kids were so pleased to have corn on the cob – especially tru. Abe didn’t even complain about eating his sandwich. amazing.

after dinner, we went outside to play. jimmy watered and worked in the yard and played basketball with abe. abe rode his bike and kept having to fix the chain. max rode on the sidewalk with his little trike. tru wandered around trying to get his poop out (fact of life around here!). success. hannah was cute. she had ‘the secret garden’ book in a satchet and was walking up and down the sidewalk reading it with bare feet and rolled up jeans.

we had popsicles and enjoyed the nice evening. i was finishing up my civil war novel and abe sat by me and said, “soooo, do you want to talk about anything?” we talked about abe going back to school. lately he and i have talked about how fun the summer was – focusing on the fun activities the kids did with other family members. summer was fun after all.

then max came up to me and stood 2 inches from my face. he touched my face and said, “I love your face, mom.” Then he told me he loved my ears and my hair and my tummy and my shoulder. it was just funny.

there are wonderful moments together as a family and I love remembering and noting the happy times.

1st week of August

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Not much going on these days with me trying to rest and keep my feet up. I’m always so grateful for those who help while I’m gone to doctor’s appointment and non-stress tests. They are angels who keep the kids going having fun. Here’s a little of our week:Max had a rash for 10 days. Weird. We finally took him to the doc and they said it was just a virus. He had a fever for 3 days and was super irritable for the rest of the time, but I think he’s finally over it. Yay.

We built a fort with blankets and chairs. The kids read the Diggingest Dog and ate a little lunch in there. It went much better once Tru was taking a nap. But it was mostly fun and was a good diversion.

Kids swinging outside. Tru could swing for hours I think. Hannah and Abe are good to help push him so I can side on the sidelines and observe.

Tru is such a cute little thing… but I’ll tell ya… that boy has a mind of his own. If it’s not his idea – he sooooo isn’t okay doing it. The picture on the bottom right makes me smile. The only thing besides church pants that I could find were those shorts… which appear to be one size too small. It was awesome. He parked himself right by me on the porch to watch the kids play.

Hot potato game – do ya think Max liked it? Oh yah! He didn’t ever want to toss it because he wanted it to end with him. They all laughed and laughed… well, until Tru accidentally threw it way too hard at Max’s head when he was 2 feet from him. Games often end in tears with the littles, don’t they.

Hannah – oh, Hannah… why did you decide to curl your hair around a comb? I worked on it for 10 minutes then turned it over to Jimmy. I was ready to cut bangs and call the stylist to bob and layer the rest. Jimmy, on the other hand, loves that Hannah is getting longer hair, so he stuck to that mess. He ended up cutting the teeth of the comb… and then snipped the comb into a few parts to get it out. 30+ minutes later, she just had a bunch of knots which finally came out.

Last of all… I had just said how nice it would be to have a treat today… and Sister Grow knocks on the door with a full pan of hot cinnamon rolls. That woman listens to the Spirit, I’ll tell ya. I think she did that 6 months ago right after I was longing for some cinnamon rolls. Yum! I’m so grateful for those who have brought food and have watched over us the past few weeks. Good people! I want to be as good (and aware of other’s needs) as friends and family have been to us.

These photos are from our one outing this week… my sanity to leave the house. We ate pizza at the park and the kids played. Hannah and Abe enjoyed climbing trees and playing frisby (until Hannah got whapped in the mouth). Tru loved the rocks. He sorted the little ones and climbed on the big ones. We hardly even saw Max because he was so busy going down the swirly slide. It’s fun to enjoy a park with huge trees, shade, and benches.

During my personal time/church today… I listened to Julie Beck’s talk from April 2011 Women’s Conference. I liked when she talked about the purpose of Relief Society… that it isn’t just to get together and socialize… but that it is to provide relief {“lifting up to a higher level of achievement, behavior in the Lord’s kingdom.”}

“We have an organization because we have a purpose. And when we have a purpose there is an expected work and outcome. Relief Society isn’t just a feel-good, get-together, let’s-enjoy-each-other, do-anything-any time-any-place for any reason. This is part of the Lord’s work… it has a purpose that was delineated by the Lord and His holy prophets.” Relief Society “provides an alignment with His purpose which helps us learn our unique duties and responsibilities…”

Anyhoo… all good stuff. It reminded me of how much I love the Relief Society Declaration.

p.s. ONE. MORE. WEEK. May the Light, Strength, and Power of God shine on us all … so we can endure. … endure well… sigh…

A Respite from the resting

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{re·spite} : noun
: an interval of rest or relief

So – why would I need a Respite from my resting. Laying low and trying to stay off your feet as a mama is one hard thing to do. It drives me crazy. Yes, it’s good and it might help me make it to 38 weeks (go away Preeclampsia!), but today I was too discouraged about staying home all the time. My thoughtful husband recommended going on a drive in the mountains, even if we couldn’t do a big hike.

We headed up Provo Canyon… drove through Sundance parking lots… and decided to go to Aspen Grove to walk around. I’m certain we weren’t supposed to be there, but nobody questioned us. Our kids enjoyed playing in the little house, the teeter-totter airplane, and the noah’s ark play set. We walked across a bridge, saw a teepee and a swimming pool that everyone wanted to jump in. It was fun to walk around, rest, and see the mountains. Tru made lots of comments on our drive, “Water. Tree. Rock. River. Mountain.” Max commented that the snow on the mountain was so slippery and we “need to be careful.”

Going to the mountains is one of my favorite things. I miss hiking this summer. sigh…a time and season for everything…

These are my favorite photos… everyone trying to get posed for a photo. Tru’s looking at ants. Max seems to be fixing his shoe. Abe was probably deciding on a pose. Hannah was trying to make sure her back wasn’t hurting. Jimmy… he endures me well… even all my photos.

Our outing was a good break for me. It helped perk my spirits to keep a goin’ a little longer. 3. MORE. WEEKS.

and then it was Friday

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Up! Up! and Away… we went to Herriman to see the UP house remake. It isn’t open until the Parade of Homes (which we’re soooo not paying for)… but the kids thought it was so fun to see the outside. Bangerter homes came up with such a cute idea to build this home. They even had all the locks on the front door. I hope someone takes photos of the inside so we can see how similar it is to the house in the movie.

Then we got ice cream cones at McDonalds and drove by the Oquirrh Mountain temple.

After quiet time, Jimmy pulled out the pool for the kids. I loved the faces they made as they prepared to splash into the water.

Temple photo by Holly Jones on Flickr
UP House photo with balloons on Disneyblog

oh, what do you do in the summertime…

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We’ve been keeping things a bit mellow this week… trying to enjoy summer break at home. Occasionally Hannah and Abe mention that we’re not doing super cool “real” summer things. Hannah said something like, “I mean… we haven’t even gone to disneyland yet.” Ummm yah – we never talk about going to Disneyland. I’m not sure what she’s expecting. And Abe sometimes comments that he is bored. Last summer we did oodles of outings in the Salt Lake area. Our family is used to hiking and doing something at least once a week. There’s a time and season for everything… and this summer is the season to stay home and enjoy the simple things. I sure wish I could hike up a mountain, but my hips can’t quite handle walking around the neighborhood anymore.

Anyhoo… Yesterday I think the kids were enjoying the little activities we did. The kids played blocks together and let Tru watch Baby Einstein. They gathered the entire alphabet in order. (see Max crying in that top left photo … yeah… I think Tru stepped on his hand. And they did have a hitting match… but overall, there was joy). The kids enjoyed some time with Aunt Amy. They helped her fold laundry and she painted Hannah’s nails. We made homemade snowcones. And the kids did the perfect summer activity and watched the clouds change shapes and blow by. Here is a little proof that the kids enjoyed themselves this week. See kids – we can have fun without doing everything “BIG”. “By Small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” The ‘great things’ might be to enjoy what is before us.

It’s Independence Day!

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We had a mellow stay-at-home Independence Day celebration. The kids made necklaces and bracelets out of beads (p.s. next time remember it’s 1,000 times harder with a toddler around). We would have done backyard swimming if it were sunny, but we had clouds all day with a few drops of rain. Max and Tru did run through the sprinklers while Jimmy watered the neighbors lawn. We ate some yummy pasta salad and a flag cake. We enjoyed the PBS fireworks and entertainment from Washington D.C. before we put Max and Tru in bed. Last of all, I took Hannah and Abe up on the hill to watch the Thanksgiving Point fireworks. Abe sang us some patriotic songs from his school program. Good times. Happy 235th Birthday America!

*summer* frozen in time

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today was good.
not perfect.
but good.
much better than yesterday (at least my mood).
shrubs planted… weed cover and rocks placed (Jimmy).
bike ridin’ without training wheels (abe).
laundry washed and dried (laundry fairy).
… yet to be folded (come on laundry fairy!).
floor swept (hannah).
 towels folded (hannah & max).
weeds pulled (abe and jimmy).
swimming fun (hannah, abe, max, and tru).
popsicles eaten (tots & mom).
wonderous nap taken (tru).
backs were aching (jim and heath).
sigh… bedtime.
scared to death of neighbors LOUD (but rather cool) fireworks (Abe).
sigh… bedtime. take 2.

but not before we froze some happy moments… to remember july 2, 2011, a hot saturday in lehi.

Bountiful Baskets

self portrait by max

abe flyin' solo

tru loves a creamie

enjoyin' summertime

a bit of grass and sunshine

Summer 2011 – week 1

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This week was sort of random. We did lots of work… a little play. We’re getting used to a new schedule. The kids were funny. The kids were hard. The kids were energetic. Yep – it was a jumble of things.

The best parts:

Max: “I love your baby.” Then with kisses and sweet little “meow, meow, meows” he kisses my belly.

Abe: “I don’t want to go on a mission because I’ll miss you too much mom.”
Mom: “I’ll miss you too… but I can write emails and send photos. And I’ll mail packages with treats and snacks.”
Abe: Clapping – “Oh, yay!” Then he was okay about going on a mission.
Hannah: “And I’ll mail you pasta.” (Our fam knows that Abe mostly just loves eating noodles… like every day.)

Tru: Every time he looked at the neighbors house (they have a cat) he intensely said, “Titty tat. Soft.” All week he mentioned this since on Monday he tried to pet a cat at the park … but hit it instead. It ran so fast so I told him he needed to be soft.

Max: referring to needing to go potty… “I probably did … yesterday.” I know I’ve mentioned this before… but it still makes me laugh every time.

Abe: referring to skin color… “Mom, you are mostly red. Me and Tru are white. Hannah and Max are tan.”
Mom: “What is dad?”
Abe: thinking… “Gray.” (in reality… Dad fits in with the Hannah and Max club)

So there you have it… our life in a nutshell.

p.s. ought to note… went to the doc this week. Saw a different guy in the group. I just hit 3rd trimester status… so he informed me that I’m part of the high-risk clinic now because of my high blood pressure (even though it’s completely controlled by medication). I never had high blood pressure until I was in the hospital right after having Truman. I guess it stuck with me. So – that little tidbit now means that at 32 weeks (july 5), I have to start having twice a week non-stress tests for baby to make sure the placenta is still functioning… and also being watchful that I don’t get preeclampsia. Mostly weird… since I’ve had really normal pregnancies. The doc also said they’d deliver at 38 weeks instead of 39… so that would put my c-section on August 15-ish. I guess we’ll see what happens at my next appointment.

Ensign Peak

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Yesterday we headed up in the lovely weather to hike Ensign Peak. Mostly we’ve heard of it through General Conference messages. It was 1/2 mile up hill for sure. This mama (who hasn’t exercised all winter) was a huffin’ and a puffin’. The kids had enough energy though. It really was a neat view at the top. And the flowers along the way were so cheerful. The church had a lot of neat information on signs (though I was so sad that gangsters had spray painted on most of them.)

Now, the reality of this hike… We had some complainers. Lots of squabbles over nothing. The kids lost ice cream privileges over it. Unfortunate. Sigh… Max was chipper and funny the whole time… though scared going down the steep parts. I love his hat over his eyes. He’s funny. He asked to take a few pictures… Hello baby girl!… right there front and center! And he cut off a few heads though he caught those tossin’ elbows. Truman just wanted to walk… which meant that really he was trying to clean up the “mess” of rocks and dirt on the trail. With the help of candy, we convinced him it was better to ride in the backpack. Overall… it was still a fun hike that I’m glad we went on.

p.s. this ought to be noted for family history, I suppose … see how extra covered I am. After my last sunburn, I realized that my blood pressure medication causes SUN SENSITIVITY… which means 30 minutes in the sun = super awful chemical sunburn. Hello sunscreen, hats, and thin long sleeve shirts. It stinks for me. I need my Vitamin D. Enough whining Heather. The End.