Meet Mr. AWESOME Mom

I went in for foot surgery on Friday morning and, a week later, I am finally taking slow steps with only one crutch. I've been on my back with my foot in the air, on pain meds, reading nice books, sleeping, and drinking lemonade (OK, not that far, but you get the picture). Pretty much, I have done absolutely NOTHING around the house.

And the new and improved Mr. Mom has stepped up to the plate. And in the process, he's made me look bad because of how awesome he is. Dang it! But not at all surprising.

For a week, he's taken over the car pool, changed every diaper, taken kids to scouts, activity days, the park, out to lunch, visited the school kids for lunch, played basketball, flown kites, played games, made sack lunches, helped with homework, preschool outings, read stories, made and served breakfast, lunch, and dinner, cleaned up breakfast, lunch, and dinner, picked up the house, taken all 6 kids grocery shopping (something I would pay NOT to do), tucked in kids at bedtime, laundry, more park outings, dealt with kids through the night, stomach flu with three kids, throw-up in car seats, on carpets, beds, more laundry and cleaning up, etc. . .

The list goes on. Yes, I usually do all that stuff when I'm up and healthy. But the thing that has amazed me is that John has done it with a song and a smile, always happy, always asking "who needs help, how are you feeling, what can I do more. . . " I'm not sure I can say that about myself. He's been a dream. My appreication for him has risen to a new level this week.

Two incisions were made, each about 3 inches long. Bone was removed, other bone was cut and straightened, pins were put in to hold things together, and tendons were reattached. And I am feeling better by the day. Getting board and antsy, and ready to put on my running shoes again. But that won't be for a while.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy reading some great books and let my foot heal. And call a cleaning lady to do the deep stuff that only women see or notice. That's where the "Mr." in Mr. Mom comes in. . .

Man, I love him.

Happy Birthday to Abby

Abby turned 8 this week. She's excited to be baptized as a member of our church soon. Her birthday wishes included taking a few friends to Panda Express for dinner, Chocolate Layers for dessert, and making two crafts-decorating flip flops and a hat.

It was a fun day for her. Thanks to all the birthday wishers who made her day so special!

Happy Anniversary--We're Teenagers!

This past week John and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. To keep with tradition in our family, we had a family birthday party to celebrate the birth of our family. We talked about what we LOVE about our family, we had our favorite cake (chocolate molten lava cake) and ice cream, we sang "happy birthday to us", and opened presents.

John and I felt the need to help the kids feel unity and loyalty within our family. John shared some great thoughts with the kids about what it means to be a team player-although team players each have different roles and responsibilities, they all work together in order to succed. He bore testimony to them about the plan of salvation, the sealing power in temples, and how exciting it will be someday to all be able to return to God's presence as a family. We're all on the LeSueur team.

Every team needs some sort of uniform. Here's ours.

On the front of the shirts, the kids say MVP --most valuable player. John's says, "Head Coach", and mine says "Manager".

It was a fun day. And from a mother's perspective, it was quite reassuring. Sometimes it's easy to only notice the fighting, arguing, bickering, complaining. . . on a day-to-day basis. But today I noticed only gratitude between each other, kindness, compliments, laughter, and lots of love passed around. I felt progress towards our end goal--to be an eternal family unit. It was a good feeling.

Of course, John and I did some celebrating on our own as well. He and I checked ourselves out of the parent roles a few weeks ago and had a grand time. He's my best friend, and I'm his as well. The kids know we're first in each other's lives, and that knowledge provides them a sense of security and pride.

Happy Anniversary to Us!