Three's Not Really a Crowd...

Life with 3 kids has been great so far. Better than great. It has been better than I even thought life could get. It's amazing how much I have changed since having Luke almost 8 years ago. I was such a stress case with him and now, with Sawyer, I am so laid back, so happy, much more confident as a parent. Everyone says that's always the case, but you never realize that until it happens to you. Things today were the same old, same old. Jordan snored the whole night which kept me awake most of the night. Then Sawyer woke up around 3 AM to eat. Then the kids woke me up at 7 AM to show me their luau wear that they were putting together so they could go "swimming" in the basement. I told them I would see it when it was time for me to really wake up and to leave me alone! So, to make a long story short, it was a typical Sunday at home-playing with the kids, feeding Sawyer his first solids (pears, which made his chubby face crinkle up and that he promptly spit out), talking with grandparents via iChat, grilling burgers, Family Home Evening, trying to get the kids to calm down, everyone on the bed to play with Sawyer, everyone off the bed to brush their teeth, trying to get everyone to sleep so we can sit for a bit and watch some TV in the basement etc. Yep, typical Sunday.

Why Am I Doing This Again?

When my kids were younger, I think motherhood seemed so much more monotonous and pointless. I mean, of course it wasn't-it's just the daily routine of waking up and knowing that today would consist of cleaning this and wiping up that and don't do this and keep your cool and then a brief moment of motherhood joy, followed by a full-on tantrum, etc. got to feel a little redundant at times.

But now I wish I could go back and tell myself that even in the chaos of all this, I needed to have a goal in mind. I was working toward something! ...But what was that something? I didn't know.

I think I have figured it out, or at least gotten a clearer picture (I always hesitate to claim I have figured anything out in motherhood because, I am almost always sorely disappointed soon after making that claim).

For a while, I thought that my goal as a mother was to have my kids someday go to the temple and get married...but I wasn't completely happy with this definition if you will, and couldn't figure out why. I think it is because this seems like a copout to me; I want to have a concrete goal to work toward, and that seems almost like a mirage of reassurance as a mother-knowing, you sent your child off into life with photos and all your guests to witness that you raised your child "right."

But what IF the marriage fails?

I don't necessarily mean divorce. I mean, what if someone is unhappy, or just stops growing as a person? Or they just stop growing as a couple? Or who knows what?!

Back to the drawing board.

My goal as a mother is to point my children in the right direction? ...too broad. To teach them how to be good people? ...too generic.

To help them develop habits that, when practiced, will help them get to know their God and their Savior. ...that could be it.

With this, everything else will fall into place. They will strive to become better people, they will do what is right, they will develop testimonies, etc.

However, there is one word in this that intimidates me: habit.

Habits are hard to develop-what do they say? Six weeks, I believe. But something tells me in this case it takes more than that. When I read the word "habit," I am thinking a lot of work and diligence-daily, no fail diligence.

The good news is, there is also the phrase "Old habits die hard."

With everything there is to face in life, I sure hope so.

I Think I'm Going to Boston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nDYqsFd4dY

Jordan told me the other day his manager said there was a position opening up in Boston at corporate for the company he works for. Although I was excited at the thought, my mind didn't want to go there. Such a big change. Yet, my gut told me at that moment that I needed to prepare to leave.

So, to make a long story short, we're moving to Boston! So many things to do. So many changes in so little time. Yet, the adventure awaits, so here I come!

A Prayer for Louie the Lobster

Luke's favorite thing in the whole world is his lobster Jordan got him from Boston who sports a yellow rain coat. Every night when he goes to bed, Louie has to be there too so Luke can rub him and suck on his lip to help him relax. However, for about 3 or 4 weeks, Louie went missing, and Luke was so sad to have his best friend absent. So we told him to pray about it. We prayed about it. We prayed again, asking Heavenly Father to help Luke find his lobster. No lobster. It got to the point where in our personal prayers, we would add in something to the effect of how it would really be great if Luke could find his lobster so he could see that Heavenly Father answers prayers.

Finally, our prayers were answered when I was putting Luke to bed one night and saw something balled up where the sheets were tucked into the mattress. Sure enough, it was Louie. See Luke? It may not happen when you want it to happen, but it will happen when position yourself so as to find the answer you are looking for.

Snow Day!

The kids were so excited that they had no school (at least Luke was), so we decided to make the most of it. I made the kids apple juice slushies, pancakes shaped like the first letter of their names, and of course we went outside:)

The Botanical Gardens

We went to the Botanical Gardens last weekend and had a great time with the kids even though none of the plants were really out yet. Here are our photos!

...and one more...