Visitors

The kids loved having both sets of grandparents come out for a visit this spring.  The anticipation of their arrival is almost as exciting for them as the actual visit.  They had a great time with my parents.  Enjoyed visiting the air and space museum (and then building a model plane together), and spending lots of time doing the things the kids love to do.  

Such a great visit, and we look forward to seeing everyone in the summer!

The end of school is approaching!

And I am so excited!  This year has been a really good year for Max.  He's made huge improvements, both academically and with his confidence levels from the start of the year.  We've noticed it, and his teacher has commented a couple times over the last month how much she's seen him take off.  Awesome to watch and be part of.  Awesome to see things click for him which create a chain reaction of the next thing clicking faster and faster.  Especially with reading.  I love the development we had of teaching him to read.  It was a process, and so, so gradual.  I remember listening to him ages ago wondering when it would all click and take off.  And then it happens.  Not just the satisfaction of the early reading, but when they pick up some serious reading material and just take off.  And you watch a whole new world open.  Love talking to him about progress and looking at the confidence in his eyes because he knows how much he's progressed too.

With things coming to a close, he participated in the first grade music program.  With a farm theme, his class was supposed to wear black or white (like a cow).

 And, on a completely different day, but a day that I still remember loving in elementary too - field day. Parents were invited to watch, and it was sure fun seeing the action.  His grandparents happened to be in town and were able to catch a peek too.

March Madness

Mike and I have always filled out March Madness brackets.  This year, I thought it'd be fun to include the kids.  Max was loyal to the home team and went for Creighton all the way.  Alexis, since she loves to color so much, I color coded her bracket and she picked her winning team by what color she liked better.

Then we tracked winning points with a little bar graph.  Winner got to pick a family activity out.

While I'd hoped the chaotic guessing that Alexis and Max pulled off would have been a winner for the craziness of this year's bracket, Mike blew us out of the water.

Good thing he picked a fun night out to their favorite frozen yogurt place - Orange Leaf!

Another tradition keeper!

Mother's Day

Mother's day weekend really has been the best.  On Saturday we watched Max play his soccer game, I saw my hubby ride his bike for the first time post surgery (wahoo!  He finally had the go ahead to get on the bike and rode to the soccer game.  It was so nice to see him pedaling again!), Mike finished building our play set (more on that below!) and we had a great dinner out as a family.   Sunday continued with darling notes from the kiddos, a great day at church, and beautiful weather to enjoy the day with family.

We picked up the play set about 6 weeks ago and started the process of putting together the 3,000 (or bazillion!) parts that were included.  Mike's dad gave us a great start when they were in town.  But the weather didn't work out for them to finish.  

Yesterday we finished!  It's awesome.  I smile every time I look out the kitchen window.  Every time I see these little kiddos climbing around it.  I love hearing them talk about all of the games they are going to play on it, picnics they want to have under it.  I love the sound of them giggling away as they swing their heart out.  I love pushing, pushing, and pushing Alexis in the swing.  And seeing Tayler already figure her way in and out of the house.  And Max offer to help his baby sister down the slide.  Time well spent in my book.

With it all, this weekend has been a great time to reflect.  Man, we've had a lot happen.  I look back at this exact time last year trying to do the exact same things we did this weekend - showing a house, managing the soccer thing solo as Mike had started work in Omaha, taking turns walking a restaurant (or outside) if we ever attempted eating out (since Tayler would just cry the whole time), feeling so emotionally drained with the upcoming unknowns, trying to buy a house in a place I didn't know, and feeling so dang tired.

I remember hoping it would all fast forward.

Looking back, I'm glad it didn't.  While it was tough, I learned a ton.  While stressful and full of moving parts, all of it was good.  Lots to be happy about and recognize with gratitude.  We have been blessed to be able to do what we get to do, to enjoy good health (like a husband who can ride his bike again!), and to have supportive extended family who'll come visit those cute grandkids.

This Mother's day, I'd say that is exactly what I'm full of.  Gratitude.

Gratitude for our moms who've raised us to be who we are.  Gratitude for the chance I have to develop these little people.  A friend emailed me this quote that I just loved:

"Who wouldn't want to be a mom?" I wondered.  A career in motherhood had its elements of drudgery, but so did any other.  What other career could claim as its end product the elevation of a human soul?  Not just the enlightening of a mind or the development of a body, but the improvement of every aspect of a vibrant child of God?  I at least, wanted to be a mother because I believed, with Harold B. Lee, that the most important work I would ever do would be within the walls of my own home.  I chose to be a mother because I wanted to teach souls to fly."

-Lia Suttner Collings


Me too.  Here's to lots of flying.

She's Walking!

Made the first official steps solo in April, just past her 14-month date.  I'd been waiting for her to get the confidence to give it a shot.  An awesome brother + the ball popper did the trick.

Probably the cutest thing ever.

p.s.  and it's a skill she's continued to master.  Successfully made it all around the grass while watching Max's soccer game on Saturday.  Her mind is focused on figuring out how to move those legs even faster.  She'll be running in no time (with summer skinned knees to show)!

Grandparents

 Shortly after Easter, Mike's parents came out for a visit.  Max had just barely turned the corner with the whole flu bug, and I'd managed to disinfect the whole house again!

Fit in lots of fun family time - including the belated Easter egg hunt (much colder!).

 Our church had general conference.  We always do some little games and activities while we are listening.  Had to take a picture of what Alexis invented after she'd had enough bingo.  She invented this cutting/taping game.  I smile looking at this picture as it reminds me how she was so insistent with the placement and location of each little square.  She knew exactly how she wanted it!

 Max was star of the week.

 The girls at the Children's Museum.

 Picked up Max a little early from school one day to take everyone BOWLING!

 And managed a trip to the zoo.

 It was a great visit!

Easter

Man, oh man, I was looking forward to Easter.  The holiday was a few days after Mike was able to start walking again (WAHOOO!!!).  

This year, we'd spent a bunch of time focusing on the true spirit and meaning of Easter.  They loved these bible videos.  They are awesome, beautiful, and everything in between.  Alexis still loves to sit and watch them.  Clearly they made an impression.   But my favorite is when she retells the story, and with such eagerness and full of wide eyes will say, "and the stone moved!!!  the tomb was empty!!!"  

Then there's the other part of Easter that I was looking forward to.  The easter bunny, egg dying and egg hunt.  The weather was warm (and only for a few days!), and I was convinced the weekend was going to be awesome.  

Mentally, I had an image of how it would all play out.  Fun activities, Sunday church, cute family pictures and lots of happy faces.

The weekend finally arrived, and so did reality.

Friday night Max went from playing like crazy to "mom, my tummy hurts" to throwing up all over the bathroom floor.  Mentally, I held hope that it was just a 24 hour stomach flu.

Saturday night came, and he was no better.  In fact, the kid had an awful stomach flu that lasted 4 solid days!  The poor guy was so sick.  Keeping nothing down, and was very dehydrated after day three.  So much that I was up with him all night giving him sips of fluid every 90 minutes in an effort to avoid taking him to the hospital for an IV.  Thankfully we made it through.  But man, this flu super bug is awful.  I never remember having stomach viruses like that as a child, and I just ache seeing them so terribly sick.

Through the mix of his illness, we did end up doing the easter baskets.  It was a failed attempt I made to cheer my little guy up.  While the other two liked it, poor Max got sick just trying to look around the room for his basket.  

So the Easter weekend came and left while we were taking care of this guy.  And, while it didn't pan out the way I had planned, I'm so grateful that he was able to knock this virus on his own.  Super grateful that he was the only one in the house that picked it up.  And grateful that kids are happy to have easter egg hunts and dye eggs even if it isn't Easter weekend.

Maybe that really is what the whole purpose of Easter is about anyway.

 Here's my guy on Easter morning.

The girls loved their easter baskets.

 Tayler spent A LOT of time during Max's sick days in the pack in play.  And I blew through three containers of disinfectant wipes.  She had this facing smashing game with me to try to get out...

I was teaching the young women on Easter Sunday, so I headed off while Mike was home with the kiddos.  I came back so we could swap places, and found my little guy dressed and ready to go.  He really looks forward to church, and tried to convince me that he'd be fine.  Of course, those clothes lasted about 5 minutes, and then he was off to the bathroom (yet again!).

 My two off to church.  Here's Mike's first picture without crutches!  Yay!