Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a difficult day for me not because I don't love being a mother, but I don't like attention on me. I have never been one that likes to be in the spot light. I would rather do what I love to do with the reward being the joy I feel in my heart as I go about serving my family. If it were up to me we would pass right over the day, but the kids do love celebrating and I do love to see their joy. I do love that in our family we spend the weekend together as a family doing fun things as a family. For record keeping purposes this is how the weekend went down. As a family we spent the day cleaning the house and getting little projects out of the way. It is always nice to have a clean house for the sabbath. After we worked hard together we went out to dinner and then we came home for some yummy ice cream. On Sunday I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to sleep in. While I was sleeping Anthony enlisted the help of his dad in cutting out letters that spelled out Happy Mother's Day with cut out flowers. They put their beautiful arrangement on my chair in the living room. I am not one for breakfast in bed, but I did get to pick anything I wanted for breakfast and it was made to order. I was then presented with flowers from the garden and three lovely homemade cards. After dinner we enjoyed Family Home Evening singing songs and spending time as a family, and it was simply perfect.

What I love about being a mother is often times hard to put in words. There are the smiles, the giggles, the hugs, and the refrigerator worthy art work. There are the teaching moments, the laughing moments, the bonding moments, and the moments to share. However for me it is the moments of service, the service I am blessed to render to my children on a daily basis. Through this service I feel immense love and it is that I love that brings me the greatest joy and the greatest reward. I love how everyday I wake up to service and I go to bed filled with love, and no one can take that away from me.

Spencer is Five

I cannot believe I have a five year old. I don't know why I had it in my head that Spencer was three, but I did. I think it is because he went to preschool and that is what three year olds do. Anyway I am happy to say that I now realize that he is five and am excited to not only move on from baby stage, but toddler stage as well. Spencer was in a Special Ed preschool program, mainly because at three the light bulb hadn't gone off. Well a few weeks ago they tested him again to see his progress from when he entered the program at three to now. Spencer tested at average to above average and he also met all of his goals for speech and no longer needed speech services. This was all exciting for us, and since he met all goals and expectations he graduated from the program. This meant that Spencer's last day of school was the end of April. So Spencer is ready for Kindergarten, I just don't know if Kindergarten is ready for Spencer.

Spencer is starting to understand birthdays and so it is fun to see his excitement for when his birthday rolls around. A few years ago I decided that friend birthday parties seemed like a lot of work and expense and didn't seem all that necessary, so now we celebrate as a family and the kids have just as much fun.

Spencer spent his morning taking his sister to therapy and then Daddy was able join us for lunch at McDonalds and then surprised us by taking the rest of the day off. While Madeline had school with her home bound teacher, Daddy and Spencer had fun in the backyard. For dinner we headed over to a local pizza buffet and then after dinner we went home for some birthday cake and chocolate milk. This year Spencer picked out a Cars 2 birthday cake. In fact a few days before his birthday I took him down to the party decoration store and let him pick out all his supplies; I think he thought he was pretty big stuff.  He loved having everyone sing Happy Birthday to him and he really loved getting hyped up on sugar. After cake it was present time or more like kids watch a movie while Mom and Dad exercise patience in putting together the toys, cause you know a boxed filled with lots of pieces divided up in lots of bags is no fun. We decided this year to get Spencer Knex Mario Kart tracks where he could build his tracks and race his Mario Kart cars. I think it was a nice idea, but when it came time for us to piece these all together, our idea was not so hot. It felt like Christmas morning. Grant an I did managed to piece everything together and it actually worked afterwards and the kids had fun racing the karts and trying to trip each other up with swinging mushrooms and jumps in the track. Grant and I decided not take the track apart, I guess we figured we would never get it back together. Spencer enjoyed getting cards in the mail, a call from Grandma and Grandpa, and a surprised visit from Aunt Katie with his favorite Cars 2 balloons and some yummy and fun candy. I think Spencer's day was truly a magical day and I am sure he felt loved on his special day. I always find great joy in celebrating my children's special day.

Twister Fun

A lot of time during the week after dinner you can find our family having a few fun rounds of twister. This is especially a favorite for Spencer when he is in charge of the activity for Family Home Evening. Of course the most coveted position is being in charge of the spinner, cause when you have the spinner you get to determine how we are going to play. So of course one never knows how one round from the next will be and of course we all get a kick out of who will be the first to get twisted.

Feeding Therapy

I have never heard of feeding therapy until Madeline, but then again I haven't heard of a lot of things until I had Madeline. Due to circumstances beyond our control Madeline has developed some eating fears that have stopped Madeline from eating like she should. These fears were starting to get in the way of her eating and she was losing weight and not gaining. Madeline is already tiny for her age which means she is the last person that needs to lose weight. Madeline's tummy doctor put Madeline into feeding therapy, great we thought now there will be light at the end of the tunnel in regards to her lack of eating. I never realized how involved this feeding therapy is and how much time it would take. For about a week after starting I was completely overwhelmed and for a moment thought things were just fine with her fear of eating. However magic occurred and no I wasn't able to say the magic words and everything disappeared. We still have our therapy sessions three days a week, but the magic was my perspective. This perspective has been a huge testimony building experience for me.

I have gained a perspective of the power of the atonement. When all this hit I immediately got on my knees and poured my heart out to my Savior. Through these daily and constant outpourings to the Lord, I was reminded of the power and love of our Savior and his atonement. I began to see that my schedule didn't change and at times the demands increased but my heart was at peace and life had a sense of ease about it. I realized all this one night during my evenings prayers. As I was reviewing my day with the Lord, I realized that I did everything and that it was easy. I wasn't stressed or frazzled, I was relaxed. I was told "I cannot change things and I cannot take them away, but I already took upon myself the burdens that you feel and if you let me have them I will make things seem easy to you." I am so grateful for the atonement and more importantly I am so grateful that through the atonement I can have true and real joy no matter what life throws at me.

Some people say that I am a super woman, but I have to disagree. However I can tell you who I am. I am a mom who finds strength in the atonement, and who knows that through the atonement I can do all things. I am a mom who knows that she is a Daughter of God, and who is loved unconditionally by our Heavenly Father. I am a mom who knows that my children are still His children and that I am a partner with him. I am a mom who has an eternal perspective who knows that this life is not the end, but just the beginning. I am a mom who knows and understands that every trial and every obstacle is an opportunity for me to learn and grow. For the knowledge and growth that I gain in this life is what I need to return back to His presence. I am a mom who knows this and much more. I am not a super woman, I am a mom who knows and understands who she is and her relationship with her Heavenly Father.

So I will gladly take our three day a week therapy schedule because I know that through the power of prayer and the hope of the atonement I won't find a burden, but I will see, find, and feel joy!