Legos

Every so often I decide to take on a project that ends up being a little overwhelming. This week's Lego project was one I will not be repeating any time soon. Jake had been complaining that he couldn't find the pieces he needed to make different Lego sets and so he didn't want to play with his Legos. Being the loving, compassionate mother, I decided that maybe we could put each set into containers with their instructions so that Jake could once again enjoy building.

I don't know if I just hadn't been paying attention to all the Lego sets we had purchased or whether I was slightly delusional when I started this project, but what began as a simple sorting ended up taking ALL WEEK. In the end Jake has over 30 sets we sorted out, another who knows how many Legos divided by color in his sorting drawers, and a mother who is done with Legos for a VERY LONG TIME.

Rebecca & Sara's First Swim Meet

This year we decided to put Rebecca and Sara on swim team. We were hoping that by doing this they would become stronger swimmers and stay active during the summer. The girls were a little apprehensive about the idea at first, having never been on a swim team before, but now they love it.

On the first day of practice the girls discovered that they knew a lot of the kids on the team. They have grown to love swimming and even though they initially agreed to do only ONE swim meet, they are now scheduled for a second one the end of the month.

At their first swim meet, having only been on the swim team for 3 weeks, the girls swam their hearts out and did really well. Unfortunately they are swimming against girls who have been doing this for years so they came in dead last in every event except ONE, "The Breast Stroke." Sara took first in this event for her age group and Rebecca took second for hers. I am so excited for them. They have lots of room to grow as swimmers, but they have both come a long way this summer. Great job girls, we are proud of you.

Swimming Lessons

For the last three years, we have been taking swim lessons at the rec center near where we live. I don't know about any of you, but when I was a kid, I did one session of swim lessons and knew how to swim. Things seem to have changed a bit since then. Classes focus first on getting kids comfortable in the water and then, when they are ready, they let them swim.

Well. . . . that kind of method is all fine and good for the kid, but for the parent who shells out $45 every two weeks to find out her child is still in Level 2 (for the 4th time) it's a little depressing. So I did what every loving parent does, I threw Joey in the deep end of the pool hoping he had actually learned something. He surprised himself when he realized he could "FLOAT" (aka: doggy paddle and not sink). Ever since then we are well on our way to Level 3. HOORAY!!!! Can I say it's about time.

Jake, on the other hand, has really taken off this year. He advanced to level 4 after his first 2 weeks and is now learning different strokes and how to dive. It's been fun to watch his comfort level in the water grow. With Joey actually trying to swim and Jake on his way to swim team, I may just have 4 swimmers by the end of the summer. Okay, maybe I am being overly optimistic, but a girl can hope right?

Humility

I was reading back through old journal entries (There aren't very many of them since I started blogging) and came across this one that I wrote only weeks before we found out we were having Joshua. I am learning to be careful about what I write. A few years ago I wrote a blog entry on Adversity and then went through an incredibly difficult period of time. After rereading this entry I realized that the Lord was just about to see how much of what I wrote I really believed. In short my testimony was about to not only be solidified, but severely tested.

Here is what I wrote about humility on 11/1/2009:

Humility is about more then believing in God's ability to love, protect, provide, and save us. It is about our willingness to allow Him to do it. Putting your life in His hands. Trusting that he knows better then you do and accepting with love whatever the outcome.

That is humility.

I am only a piece of clay in the hands of the master potter. I can remain clay. Solid. Void of purpose or true inner beauty. Or, I can allow the potter to mold me, to shape me, and to place me into the refiner's fire.

All the molding in the world would fail to make me of any value without the fire. What good would I ever be to the Lord if I had never experienced life's diverse challenges. From joy to great sorrow I have felt a portion of that fire, but I am young and have not been in the fire very long.

Who will I be when I am done. Hopefully I will not crack and break under the intense heat of the fiery flame, but will instead emerge a beautiful work of art.

-I think all of us hopes to one day become something of value to the Lord. I remember reading after Joshua's passing some words written by Pres. Spencer W. Kimball. I was interested to learn that other people would often refer to President Kimball as "the Lord's guy." Someone the Lord could always count on. I can't imagine a greater compliment. For all that He has done for me and for my family, what would I give to be someone the Savior could always depend on. I need to do better, but I guess that's why we are here. To improve. One day at a time. To become something we never realized we had the potential to become. But He knew. Because He knows us and can see what we fail to understand about our own divine natures. I know that my time in the fire has only begun, but I also know that the Lord is always with us. Unlike the artisan who may leave his work and return when the firing process is complete. He will never leave us alone, not even for a moment. He is always there, helping us through those particularly trying times. May I never forget that and may I always be grateful for His hand of mercy in my life.

Singing Happy Birthday

I need to start this entry with a little background info. We tell our kids that they can say prayers in their head and that they don't have to always say their prayers out loud. Having said that you will understand Jake's confusion.

Jake informed Chad and I that Sara had already sung Happy Birthday to Joshua. In his words, "Yahh, I guess she was saying her prayers and asked Heavenly Father to pass the phone to Joshua.

(In reality Sara had told Jake that she had sung Happy Birthday to Joshua in her head)

One year later. . .

One year ago today I gave birth to a beautiful little boy. Unfortunately his time with us was limited, and after only one week we had to say goodbye.

I think that I was hoping to feel better about things after a year, but the truth is, you just don't. I have good days now. I appreciate the time I have with my children more, but my heart still hurts the same. I assume that it always will, but I'm told that time helps to heal things.

We decided to try and celebrate Josh's birthday yesterday by going to the cemetery and then out to get cupcakes afterwards. The kids struggled with the idea. Sara started crying when we mentioned it saying that it brought back to many painful memories; but we felt like we needed to do something and so, in spite of our less than festive mood, we went.

I asked the kids what their favorite memory of Joshua was. 3 out of the four said the day he was born. Rebecca said holding him.

After the cemetery, we went to a local cupcake store for dessert. I have to admit it was the most somber cupcake experience we've ever had as a family. The kids smiled for a few pictures, but mostly ate in silence. I didn't even think the cupcakes tasted good. (I guess I still prefer Sprinkles cupcakes if we're going to buy them.)

Overall I guess the day was mostly about milestones. We made it through one year together. We've learned to appreciate each day a little more; and although we are not perfect and we struggle with difficult emotions, we know Heavenly Father had a plan for our family and that he loves us.

Happy Birthday baby. We miss you.

Sara's 10th Birthday

Once again, my cute little Sara choose to opt out of having a party on her birthday and instead invite a friend to celebrate with the family and get $100.00. Problem, this year she mentioned her plan to her two good friends Elizabeth and Skyler. I told Sara that now she wasn't going to be able to choose only one friend without hurting the other one's feelings, so we modified the plan and instead invited two friends to spend the day with us and Sara got $50.00.

With this being Sara's 10th birthday she wanted her friends to stay from 10am -10pm. After much pleading I agreed and so the girls came at ten am and the fun began. Sara and her friends played at the house, made and decorated cupcakes, went swimming, ate, watched Kung Fu Panda 2, and played games. Unfortunately Sara didn't have the energy to make it through the 10-10 plan and by 8:45pm she was sound asleep on the couch. I ended up playing skippo and rummikub with her friends until their parent's came to pick them up. I have to admit I do enjoy these low key celebrations, but we may have to rethink the "late night" idea in the future.

Happy Birthday Sara.

Church at 2pm

What do you do when you have to wait until 2pm for church to start?

A-Sleep in

B-Lazily loaf around the house until it's time to get ready enjoying the peace and quiet of the Sabbath.

C-Play games, make lots of noise and create zip lines that extend from your bedroom to the family room in order to send your club penguin dolls down the stairs. (I'm sure they wanted to try one of the cats in a box but you have to draw the line somewhere right?)

I have to admit, if nothing else we are creative.

Aubrey's Baptism and Sara's dance Competition

We've had a lot of things going on but I have failed in the photo department so I will just talk about each event and when I finally snag some pictures I will add them.

Aubrey's Baptism

My darling little niece Aubrey was baptized on May 21st. A lot of family came in from out of town and so both my home and Karen's home were filled with fun visitors. We had my parents, my sister Cindy and her two boys, and my sister in law Rachel, and Karen had our Great Grandma Brown and Aunt Penny. Ryan's parents (Karen's husband) and Sister stayed at a local resort. As family arrived, we celebrated Aubrey's birthday swimming at the clubhouse and eating yummy cupcakes. We also had several meals together and enjoyed visiting with one another. I can get Grandma to talk for hours if we go into politics or health care. All in all we had a lot of fun.

On Aubrey's baptism day we had a special service as a family. I gave a talk on baptism, the cousins all sang "I like to look for rainbows" and my mom talked about the Holy Ghost. Ryan baptized and confirmed Aubrey and the Bishop shared a few words at the end. The spirit was so strong that I struggled to get through my message. Just before I had to speak I had a very strong impression that the room was filled with several unseen guests. That her Grandparents who had recently passed away, her sister Jenny and her cousins Josh and Junior were all there. It was a special day. I am grateful to have been a part of it.

Sara's Dance Competition
On Saturday May 28th we drove up to Scottsdale for Sara's second ballroom dance competition. I had planned to take the small car in order to save on gas, but it started shaking as soon as I got on the freeway, so I ended up switching cars with Chad at the hospital.

We arrived at the resort around 12:45pm and waited for the first heat of competition. Sara's first dance was the Waltz. She danced with Jim from her class and ended up placing 1st. After an hour and a half wait Sara had her second dance "the ChaCha" with another little boy named Ben; they took 3rd. And for her last dance, the Jive, she was partnered up with Jim again and together they took 2nd place. Sara's ballroom group performed the Hip Hop ChaCha number they have been working on this year "Fire Burning" and took first place in the group category.

At the end of the day, Sara left with several medals and a smile a mile wide. The first year that we attended this competition, Sara didn't place in any events. She has come a long way in the last year and I can't wait to see where she goes in the future if she decides to stick with it. Great job baby girl.