The scales are tipped. ..

After a not-so-fun and emotionally and physically draining first trimester, I was a little more anxious about the 20 week ultrasound for our # 7 baby.  John and I went in last week and were so pleased to see a healthy, wiggly little baby, with no seen problems.  To me, it was an answer to prayer and another tender mercy from The Lord.

And we're having a boy!  With 3 of each gender, John and I really didn't have any preference. . . until  I held my sister in law's brand new baby boy last week.  Then it hit me that two other sisters had just had baby boys this past 5 months.  I couldn't be happier!

The kids were all dying to know the baby's gender when they got home from school.  I typed up the poem, Snakes and snails, and puppy dog tails, That's what little boys are made of. Then I cut it up into puzzle pieces, and put each puzzle piece into a white helium balloon.  The kids all took guesses, then we popped the balloons and put together the puzzle.  

Within minutes, the kids started asking about how the bedroom situation would change, who is sharing with who, who gets the empty bedroom. . . Then what to name the baby.  They were all excited.  We ended our night with a lot of blue candy and treats. It was a fun, memorable evening!

The best Christmas present EVER!

Ever since I became a mother, I have always desired happy children.  That's easy when they are younger, but has seemed to become more difficult as the kids have gotten older.  For my birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and any other "gift giving" event, my kids always ask me what I want for a present.  My response has always been the same;  all I want for my birthday (or fill in the blank) is happy, obedient children.  Then they usually always follow up with , "I know, but what do you really want?"  Occasionally, I've given answers like Chapstick, a foot rub, etc. . . But always, the kids get that answer, "happy, obedient children".

I remember my mom always saying the same thing and just thought she was being silly.  But now as a mom myself, that's the best gift anyone could ever give me.  

Taylor's Christmas gift was a single typed piece of paper in a single white envelope that brought a flood of tears and meant so much, more than any gift money could buy.  I'm lucky to have him as oldest son and am grateful for the example he sets for the others that follow.

Lunch with Mason

 These past few years, I have tried to keep up the tradition of taking my school kids out to lunch once a month.  With as crazy as things get around here, I find it hard to get one on one time with my older kids, especially as their schedules fill up and get busy.  So I love getting them all to myself for all of 45 minutes during their lunch break once a month.  With Mason's birthday last week, we took advantage and hit Firehouse Subs for their free birthday lunch.

We talk about friends, school, sports, girls, his testimony, church activities, etc.  And I try to throw in lots and lots of compliments so he knows how much I love and appreciate him.

And check out those braces!  He got them put on within the past month, just before Christmas break.

Another teenager in the House

Mason turned 13 this weekend.  It's hard for me to believe my littles are all growing up into their own people, with their own interests and desires.  With Christmas just a week ago, John and I didn't know what to get for Mason.  And he's such an easy-going, east-to-please kind of guy, it's always hard to think of the perfect gift for him.

He has been wanting an ipod for a while.  John didn't love the idea of giving one of our children a temptation to check out of family interactions, to "plug in" to seclusion.  I agreed with him on that one.  But at the same time, I wanted to give Mason something teenage-ish, something he would think was cool and would be able to connect with his peers on. 

So we compromised, and decided to give him an ipod without earpods and an ihome for speakers.  That way, whatever he was listening to, we'd all be hearing around the house. Which would hopefully encourage a good choice of music as well.  So I purchased both and was super bugged about the price, which was much more than we'd usually spend on a birthday present.  Yea, we're kinda cheapskates.  But I'm OK with that.

Then I had a good idea.  I bought ipod and ihome, then offered it to Mason if he wanted to keep it, or he could take $100 instead (which was much less than what I paid) and could spend it however he wanted to.  He gladly took the $100, then started looking on craigslist for a used ipod and ihome.  After a while, he started saying that he really didn't need an ipod and thought he could still be a cool teenager without one, and that saving $100 was the best idea.  Awesome!

I'm impressed with Mason's reasoning.  He doesn't mind having used things, and he's not focused on name brands or "things", but more on people and relationships.  He is a homebody and seems to enjoy being home, just chillin' with the rest of us instead of hanging out with friends.  I like that.

To celebrate his birthday, Mason invited 7 friends (three of which were his dad, Taylor, and Andersen. . .so really 4 friends) to go to SE Arizona for an overnighter and hike Devil's Hole the following day.  They left yesterday afternoon, stopped for pizza for dinner, then stayed the night at my inlaws house.  This morning after getting up, they visited Grandpa Jim and watched the "shakers" shake all the pecans off the trees and worked with him for a while, then headed to Devil's Hole, a rock climbing place close by.  Parts of the course are quite challenging and scary at times.  Sounds like most of the boys did really well, with the exception of one who had a lot of fear and shed a few tears.  But all in all, they had fun and got home safely this afternoon.

Then tonight for a birthday dinner of his choice, we had lasagna, green salad, steamed broccoli and french bread with cheesecake for dessert. 

What we love about Mason:
John-I love how easy going Mason is.  He is so easy to please
Rebecca-I love how hand Mason is.  He likes to be helpful and fix things around the house.  He'll make an awesome handyman husband someday.
Taylor-Mason is my best friend.  I love how many memories we share together, and how I always have someone cool to hang out with.
Abby-I love Mason's sense of humor.  He makes me laugh.
EmmaClaire-Mason always shares with me and is really kind to me.
Andersen-Mason is nice to me, and sometimes teases me but not really bad.
Kate-I love Mason because he gives me gum and candy.

For the record, Mason measures 5 foot 3.5 inches and weighs 105 lbs. 

Love you Mase!

Happy 2014!

Since the beginning of the school year, life has gotten quite crazy busy, and my journaling has taken the back seat.  Pregnancy threw me for a loop, and I have been in survival mode.  Feeling much better now.  And cheers to a new year, which always comes with reflection, ways to improve, and new goals.  One of mine this 2014 is to do a better job of  journaling our family activities, my motherly thoughts, and growth that takes place here at home.  Someday, I'll be grateful I took the time to write things down, even if it's a paragraph here and a sentence there, even if there are no pictures attached.

Since August, here are a few highlights and happenings: 

• Taylor started highschool, after skipping 8th grade.  He has been challenged academically, for a first.  And he loves the social scene as well.  After the first month of school, I knew it was the right decision to have him skip a grade because he hadn't missed a day of coming home from school and, after me asking how his day was, saying "Mom, it was an awesome day" or "Mom, it couldn't have been better" or, "Mom, highschool totally rocks".  He loves it, and I love that he loves it.  Half way into the semester, he realized that he had some B's in a few classes and made a goal then and there that he would work as much as it took to get straight A's through all 4 years of highschool.  Being in all honor's classes, that's quite a goal.  Sure enough, he came home from school the last day before Christmas break and told me he had brought up all his B's to A's, and had gotten straight A's for the semester.  I'm glad he's being challenged. 
• Andersen played soccer for the first time.  John and I think for a 6 year old, he has quite an athletic build with lots of muscle definition.. . .maybe he'll be our prized athlete!  So we were interested to see how he'd do in soccer.  When he kicked the ball, it went really far.  But he wasn't too agressive on the field, but would wait towards to back for the ball to come directly to him.  But he enjoyed playing on the team, especially since most of the boys were friends from our ward. 
• Abby tried out and made the school musical, Aladin.  She didn't make a lead role but is happy to be involved and frequently comes home from practice singing for the rest of the evening. Love it!
• Mason played organized football for the first time with the junior high team.  They lost every game but one, and tied one game, 0 to 0.  To say the least, it wasn't his favorite sport.  But he learned a lot and was a good team player.  Now onto basketball.
• John was released from serving as Bishop's 2nd counselor, I was released as serving in the primary presidency, and we were both called to serve together as team teachers in primary for 8 year olds.  It's been a joy to serve together.  John is a super amazing teacher, and he knows how to be cool with the kids but also how to demand respect without being rough or mean.  I love learning from him.
• I survived the first trimester of my pregnancy, which had a few complications that kept me all but bed-ridden.  The blood clots have become a lot smaller as the baby has grown.  I am scheduled for an ultrasound next week to make sure things are healthy and to find out gender. Almost 20 weeks, not quite into maternity clothes yet, but I'm getting quite limited with the clothes that fit.  I always call it the "awkard stage".   It's nice to be feeling better and to have more energy so I can keep up with my kids.
• My brother Matt got married to Jessica Richardson in SLC.  We love her and are excited to get to know her better!  She's perfect for Matt.

We have  a lot to be thankful for.  And I have a lot of journaling to catch up on. Cheers to a new year!

Sam and Julie's Wedding

My brother Sam got married in June.  It was a very HOT but wonderful day for all, especially for them.  They were married in the Mesa AZ temple for time and all eternity.  I love that the temple provides us the opportunity to be married forever, not just for this life.  My dad was able to seal and marry them.   I've never seen my dad perform a temple wedding before, so it was a special experience for me.

Andrea and I, while at the cabin the week prior, sewed seven skirts for all the little girls in the family.  Then Aunt Amber brought darling rings for all of them to wear.  She's so fun!

Happy day for Sam and Julie!!!

Off to School

Finally, the big day arrived. The kids could hardly sleep last night, they were so excited.  And, to my big surprise, Andersen was the first one up and ready this morning, ready to go at 5:45 AM.  I'm sure once the excitement wears off, that will be an entirely different story.  

Andersen starts half day kindergarten. His older sisters kept telling him what to do, what to expect, ect. . . . . He sure got a mouthful from them.  Last night he sprinkled a little kindergarten dust (ziplock bag full of sparkly confetti) under his pillow so he would wake up excited and ready for school.  And it worked! 

 I had a lump in my throat all morning as I watched him get ready.  It's a little hard for me to send away my littles, knowing that once they leave the nest, they are influenced by much more than just me during the day, knowing that I can't control his environment, I can't  be the one who catches him when he does or says something wrong and help correct.  And I'm not the ONE person in his life that's always there.  

He had me tuck in his shirt three times this morning, tie a triple knot in his shoe laces so they don't come undone, and comb his hair with lots of gel, even though its still a buz from summer and can't really be combed over.  I love how he wanted to look his best.

EmmaClaire starts 2nd grade and is pretty excited about making new friends.

Abby starts 5th grade and hopes to have some good missionary experiences with new friends this year.  

Mason starts junior high, 7th grade. He was a little nervous about not remembering his schedule, having enough time to get from class to class, and staying organized with all his schoolwork.  He stayed up late last night, going through his school stuff over and over again, making sure he had what each class required.  This is the first year that he doesn't have big brother Taylor at school with him.  I think it will be a good growing experience for him to find his place and gain confidence.

After dropping them off, I returned home to a very quiet, clean house with Kate still sound asleep.  Wired feeling.  I'm excited to focus my time and energy on Kate, now that the others are gone.  When everyone is here, it's so easy for me to ask one of the bigger girls to help Kate when she needs something.  I look forward to the quiet, uninterrupted time I now have to just snuggle with that sweet girl.

It was a great summer.  Now, we're excited for another great school year!