What do you do when it is in the 70's?!!

Here in Kentucky, that is considered WARM, so we headed to the pool this afternoon. It was a whopping 76 outside and the kids were shivering after about 10 minutes, but they didn't care a bit!!!! (I, on the other hand, was glad that all Amber wanted to do was play on the steps so that I didn't have to get all the way into that ice cold water!!!) They had a grand time out there swimming and getting back into the swing of summer. Just 3 more days of school!!!!! :) We only had the pool to ourselves for about 5 minutes and then all the other kids that had just gotten home from school came as well. We didn't swim as long as we usually would have since we have our ward picnic here in just a short bit, but we had fun and the kids can't wait to go back!!!!
Amber looked away just as I was taking her picture, but this was all I got today at the pool since I needed to be close by Aaron and Amber in the water. I just wanted to show that she was there too! I am glad that it is Summer time again! It is my FAVORITE time of the year!! :)

Cute Signature

Right now Aaron is in a writing phase. He LOVES to write. He loves to write his name, mom, dad, Brian, and any other word that he can remember how to spell. :) He also loves to draw smiley faces and people. He must be following in the footsteps of his bigger brothers! Yesterday after we had taken the big boys to school, Aaron wanted to know if he could have some paper to draw on. A few minutes later, he came to me with this adorable signature. I thought that he did a great job on it. He is excited to be doing a preschool with me in the fall a few days a week! I am lucky to have such a sweet little boy!!!

If you were wondering......

This is how I am looking now a days. I am 5 and a half months along. My stomach is getting quite large. I will have another ultrasound on Monday to see how everything is going. It is hard to believe that time is flying past so fast. I am not sure if I am just busier than ever or what, but it seems to me that this baby is much more sedate than my other ones. Also, the outfit that I am wearing in this picture (although it isn't the best picture) I made all by myself. I sewed the shirt and the skirt (although you can't really see the skirt). I am not really all that crazy about the maternity clothes that are out there now a days, so I made a few things. Kind of fun!!! :)

Reflections

I feel that I am in a busy time of my life right now. There is always something going on. There are places to go, errands to run, kids to feed and clean up after, people to help, the list goes on and on. And yet, last weekend, I came to a realization. I am still a good mom. I am nice. I am fun. I am actually patient too! This sudden realization came to me as I sat with just Amber at a booth at Wendy's eating and enjoying time together. The boys were all gone on the camp out with Barth, and it was just she and I. I wasn't bothered by the fact that we had someplace to go....so hurry up and eat. I wasn't concerned that she was standing in the booth and dancing to the music rather than eating her food. There were no tantrums (probably because she wasn't competing for attention with anyone!) I was nice and fun and patient. I even thought to myself, "Wow! One child is such a breeze!!!" And for me, at this stage of my life, having just one for an evening was a breeze!

That night as I lay in bed thinking about our fun evening out, my mind was drawn back 9 years to when I had Weston. And I didn't think that one was such a breeze at that time. I can vividly remember the first time that we set out for church as a family of 3. I had given myself an extra hour, thinking for sure that it would be enough time to get to church on time, especially seeing as how we lived across the street from the church!! I was SOOO wrong. We were 45 minutes late for church. :) At the time, having one child was so hard. It was hard to get to places on time. Hard to get everything together for a simple walk. Hard to get my house cleaned up because I had this little person that required all of my time.

And then along came Brian. By this time, I was fairly confident in my mothering abilities. Perhaps too confident. I thought that I had it all down pat......boy was I wrong, as was evidenced by the whole feeding trouble that ensued. And at the time, 2 was a juggle. But I still had one hand for each child and before long it was all good, easy, great. Then along came Aaron and then Amber. I was busier than ever. I had school runs to make. And doctors to see. And books that were forgotten and had to be taken back up to school. And forgotten lunch boxes. And somehow in the middle of it all, my patience wears thin. I am not perhaps as nice as I would like. I am not nearly as patient as I would hope to be. I am so tired most days that I know I am not nearly as fun as I used to be! But, for a moment, that one small moment at Wendy's, I realized that even though I am not as perfect as I would like, I am doing an okay job. My children are happy. They love each other. They are well adjusted and good individuals.

It was nice and easy when I had just Amber the other night, and yet, I wouldn't trade my life or my kids for the world. I wouldn't have less just so that things might be a little easier. In reality, I actually think that it is easier having a house full of children than when I just had Weston. They entertain each other. They help each other choose the right. There is always someone to play with. There are many more hands that love to help me and cheerfully clean my house. And there is always love and laughter filling my home. I am so thankful for each one of my children. I am so grateful for all I have learned over the last 9 years as a mother. I realize that the more I am given, the more I am capable of. The Lord is so smart like that. He gives us more and more, and then makes us capable of handling all that he gives us. We may have to stretch more to handle it, but I am thankful for the stretching. (most of the time anyway!-- or at least in retrospect!) I also think that this journey that I find myself in has made me even more thankful for my own good mother and the wonderful job that she and my dad did in raising us children. It also makes me increasingly thankful for Barth, who, through it all, is there by my side, helping me, lifting me and together I know that we can do all things. Isn't life and parenthood a wonderful thing? I couldn't ask for more! :)

My big helper

For Mother's day, Weston gave me a coupon that said he would mow the lawn for me. The boys are having another sleep out tonight in the back yard and when I said that Daddy was going to mow the lawn first before the camp out, Weston was all excited! He wanted to mow for Daddy this afternoon, so he set to work! He actually did a pretty good job on the part that he mowed. He mowed a little over a third of the back yard. It was hot for here today, about 90 outside, so when he was tired, I told him that Daddy wouldn't mind mowing the rest!! :) Thanks for all the great help Weston!!!

He GREW!!!

Today was Aaron's endocrinologist appointment. While he is still sick, there was NO WAY I was going to cancel today's appointment. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to get back in to see this dr, so I loaded him up on Tylenol and took him to his appointment. The most exciting thing for me to hear was that in the last 6 months, Aaron had grown almost an inch!!!!!! :) Most kids his age grow 2+ inches a year, but this was a big improvement for him over the 1/2 inch that he grew the previous 6 months. Even though he has continued to fall down the charts, from the 12th percentile in height to the 7th, the doctor was pleased with his increased growth and will see him back again in 6 months!! Grow Aaron, grow!!

Oh, and if Aaron's fever isn't gone by tomorrow, he will go into the doctor. He has had the fever for 4 days now and it is spiking to 105 at night. I wish that there were some other symptoms other than the fever. At least then I would know that it was just a virus, which is probably all that it really is, but I know I will feel better after taking him in if his fever continues!

The final day

So, we actually ended up finishing the Book Of Mormon on Sunday due to the Father and son camp out. The boys were all very excited about it! As we read on Sunday evening, Aaron fell asleep. He gets tired on Sundays since church is right during nap time. In retrospect, he was actually probably tired too because he was getting sick again. He has been running a temp of about 104 for the last 2 days. He and Amber are both running fevers.
After finishing our reading, we headed outside to take a picture. Barth got Aaron and Brian scriptures that also had the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price in them. We are starting the D&C!!!

I had to snap a picture of Barth and the boys! I am glad that it was Barth's idea to do the reading together as a family!!! We have really enjoyed our reading of the Book of Mormon!

Father and Son Campout

Last night was the Father and Sons camp out. To say that the boys were excited is a HUGE understatement!! :) They left out from the house a little after 5 last night. They did get some rain, but had a great time yesterday evening. The trip was cut short though by a massive asthma attack for Weston that brought them home at midnight. After back to back treatments, Weston was still having a hard time breathing, so rather than risk it all night in 40 degree weather, they headed home where we were at least able to get things semi-under control. Anyway, back to the evening...... Here they are in front of the tent!
Barth said that the boys had a great time fishing! It looks as if it were a pretty place that they went to.

While they were taking turns with the fishing, they played frisbee with the new frisbees that Daddy got at his SAP conference that he went to in Orlando this week. They didn't actually catch any fish, but they had fun trying!

Playing frisbee as the night wore on.

On the way to the camp out, the kids got to stop at McDonalds for dinner and then Daddy stopped to get each of them a treat for the evening! Barth is such a fun Daddy. I am lucky to have married such a good and fun man!!! :)

Here they are, all bedded down for the evening. They called to tell me good night. They were so excited that they didn't even have to get into the tent until after 9!!! :) Oh the little joys! Here is hoping that we can get Weston's asthma better under control in the next few days. He is feeling pretty bad today so it was a good thing that they came home last night. Because they had to leave early, they will be planning up another camp out for sometime soon. Another good reason that they came home......we had a monster of a thunderstorm roll through at 5 this morning and it is still raining! They would have been pretty wet this morning leaving camp! :)

My beautiful roses!

We have had lots of wonderful rain here lately and my rose bushes are just beginning to bloom out! The pink one is doing especially well this spring with blooms galore. Whenever I see my roses it reminds me of my brother Aaron. When they are doing especially well, it makes me think that he is up there in Heaven sprinkling some sort of heavenly miracle grow on them!!! :)
My little Aaron just loves flowers and is constantly checking on my flowers to see how they are growing. He loves to smell them and look at them. Aren't they going to be pretty?
Of course this isn't a picture of a rose, but I had to take this one the other day when we were out playing. Any time Amber sees the camera she does one of two things. She either says cheese and poses, or she tries to grab it so that she can pretend to take a picture. I don't usually let her get the camera because I don't want it broken. She is growing up so fast these days!

I can't believe it!!!!

We are almost done with the Book of Mormon!!!! We will finish on Saturday. Tomorrow we finish Ether and then Friday and Saturday we read Moroni. It has taken us just over 100 days, but still, I am proud that we will accomplish our goal. With just a handful of pages left, the kids are so excited. And the thing that I love best is that they have loved and enjoyed reading the scriptures so much. They each have their own idea of which book we should read next. Weston wants to go on to the Doctrine and Covenants and Brian is all set to tackle the Bible. It amazes me what they have really learned from reading the scriptures together from the actual scriptures. We have read scripture stories every night since Weston was about 18 months old. I think that it was nice to have gotten in the habit so early on in the life of our family. I hope that the things that we read and learn about as a family will help carry them through the difficult years that I know will lie ahead. As a parent I know that I have many strengths but also many, many weaknesses. I hope that if my kids learn one thing from me, that they will learn to love the Lord and look to Him in all things. He truly is mindful of us and gives us all that we have. Hooray for us for accomplishing our goal!!!

A fun Family Night

Tonight for FHE we headed out to the Sports of All Sorts that is near our house for a family fun night of bowling. We had done this once before and it was a lot of fun. In the evenings they have it be retro-bowling (or something like that) but all it really means is that they turn out all the main lights, light up the lanes and have big disco balls above making fun lights on the alley. We had the entire alley to ourselves!! Since there are so many of us, it took us about an hour to bowl one game. The kids had a blast and so did we! Brian was the first up to bowl. (above) I thought that it was interesting that my little lefty bowled right handed!! :) And he bowled a better game than I did. I think that I need to have bumpers next time too!!! :O
Weston bowled a really good game as well. There were lots of times when it went straight down the lane and didn't hit the bumpers at all!!!

Aaron's first few rounds he bowled granny style. After that he used the rolling helper thingy.....look down a few pictures to see what I am talking about. He had so much fun!

Amber was the best little cheer leader around. She would clap after every bowl! The first few rounds she "helped" me bowl. She had tons of fun just climbing up and down the chairs and playing with the bowling balls!

Here are Amber and I doing our thing!!! I would either bowl a strike or a gutter ball!! I bowled more gutters than strikes for sure though!

Barth played a pretty decent game though!! :) Our goal as a family was to get to 400 points by the end of the game!!

Aaron spent most of the night helping to hand out the bowling balls!! The kids and I used the 6 lb bowling balls, and Barth used the pink one that was like 12 lbs I think!

Here is the helper thingy that they have at the lanes for the little kids. It is pretty cool. The kids just put the ball on top and roll it down. I don't think that it helped Aaron bowl any better, but it did help the ball get to the end of the lane faster. :)

Hanging out at the table and waiting for their turns!

Here was our final board. Barth's is hidden under the end game sign. As you can see, we did meet our family goal of 400 points but just barely!!! :) If it weren't for Barth, we wouldn't have pulled it off!

Here is everyone pointing at the scoreboard at the end!! I was so glad that we went tonight. It was such a fun family activity!! Here's hoping your family night was wonderful as well!!!

A fun visit

We had a fun week and a half with Grandma and Grandpa Yorke! They left just yesterday and although it rained almost the whole time that they were here, we got in a lot of good visiting. Grandma was a good sport and played about a million games of monopoly and Amber loved to do puzzles with Grandpa. Not only did they visit, but they also helped up with all the weeds in our yard too! We were so glad that they could come to visit and also be here for Weston's birthday!
On the few days that it didn't rain, the kids and Grandma enjoyed playing outside and taking walks.

After a few days, Amber even warmed up to Great Grandma. She would come and do her puzzles while Great Grandma held the board on her lap. It was wonderful to have family around. Aaron wanted to know why they couldn't just live here in our house all the time. :) We are excited to see them and everyone else when we go to TX here in just over a month!!

Thankful for the little things

This morning Aaron really wanted to go for a walk. It was starting to drizzle, but we set off anyway, Aaron riding his tough trike bike and Amber in the stroller. They both had a great time out in the sprinkles and about 40 minutes later we turned back onto our street. As we started down our hill Aaron started saying, "Thank you Heavenly Father! Oh, Thank you! Thank you!" Curious, I asked what he was so thankful for. He said, "For this great hill that I can go fast down!" His sweet and sincere gratitude made me stop and think of the last time that I was thankful for the tiny things in life that I take for granted everyday. I think that one of the things that I am most thankful for are my beautiful and precious children and all that they teach me!!

Happy Birthday Weston!!!!

I can't believe how time has flown!!! I can't believe that my little boy is 9 years old today!!!!! What a joy he is!!! I could not have asked for a better or sweeter son! He is a great helper to me. He is loving and caring and has a kind word for everyone!
It seems like just yesterday that he was headed off to his first day of kindergarten. He has loved school since the first day! He loves to learn and never complains about school, even if he already knew everything they were talking about. I love that he is positive and makes the best of most all situations!
Weston is such a good example to his younger siblings. He loves to make others smile and loves to tell jokes and be funny. He loves to play outside and have fun. At the end of the day, he loves nothing more than bedding down with a good book!!! He is my little bookworm and before long will know way more than me because he reads so much!!!
Weston, I love you! You are a joy in my life! I hope that your birthday is as wonderful as ever! You are my little Westy Pesty!! Happy Birthday sweetie!