Alphabet Parade

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Oh yah, a haircut!

Yes, Kennedy got her first haircut (two months ago). Not by me! I will stick to the trims. It was time she had something short, because she dislikes (very much) for her hair to be brushed. I thought she was adorable in a pony tail, but this cut has been fun and fits her personality. She did great! We still wrestle a clip or headband in for meal times. As soon as meal time is over she quickly takes them out. She is growing up!

Not a Baby Anymore

Oh but he is still our little baby! Teague turned one! What a fast year. This little man had such a calm and collect arrival April 22nd last year. It has been true for the last year...calm and collect Teague, or survival of the fourth child. He quickly outlived his time in Texas and has spent most of his life in Arizona. Texas born! He has been cruising along furniture and other things for quite some time. He became quite the speed crawler and adjusted from regular crawl to bear crawl when the terrain changed. He decided to join the little walking people in the family two days before his birthday. All our kiddos started walking quite a bit earlier than Teague. I have to say since he waited, there were less wobbles and injuries. It also might have to do with his meat distribution. Teague is full of smiles, tolerance and an all around joy to have around.

Two bouncy ball cakes per his favorite outdoor toys. He wasn't willing to dig in on his own. We cut him a slice and in he went. Not too messy, but he did enjoy his cake.

He is speaking: Mama, Dadda, Ball, Bye-bye, more(pronounced "mo") are the top vocab. He also signs a little: more, bath, high fives ;), down, ball. If he finds a hat, he loves figuring it out and will take it on and off several times before moving onto the next toddler activity. He is quite the bat and ball boy, hence "ball" being one of the first and most used words. He will carry the bat around and try to swing. He sort of golfs balls around the house. He loves to play catch and is quite the thrower. This was after one of Mom's softball games. I think he played as much ball as I did during my two games.

It takes a lot of persuasion to get his hands free of a bat or ball that he has claimed for the moment. Food is a great distraction. He is a good eater. He stays at or above average on weight and height for now. He looks like a big boy, especially next to his petite two and a half year old sister. The kids love him so much. They continue to love on him so much. Kennedy is learning to be much kinder. She is a bit mothering to him. Those are the sweet and tender moments I cherish. Several times a day I am pulling her off of him. He is quite the wrestler already, much to my dismay. It is a defensive move and I don't worry about him as much. We love this little guy and are a very happy family with each of our precious angels! We feel very blessed.

Noah and those flooded days

So the kids caught the stomach bug. I was so relieved when it had gone around before and mine were only suffering from runny noses at the worst. You should never think you are soooo immune. To think it was going to be a calm normal week. Not so easy!





I feel so bad for them when they are sick. They just want it to stop. Some sleepless nights, but some sweet cuddling and times together. It did start Thursday night with a bang. Taylin told me her tummy hurt. I suggested she lay down, try to go potty, drink some water, maybe even hang out at the potty if anything happens. While she is doing that: the heavy blinds over the kitchen sink fell on me, Teague was in need of some holding, snacks were on demand, dinner should be started, I have no clue when David will be home (ahh, the Wards month...it is always a mystery). I put a show on for the kids to get dinner started and calm them down. Taylin came to tell me how it still hurts and nothing came out in the bathroom....*splash*...oh it came out! Chocolate color (sorry for the details, but better to get the whole picture, ha!) all over the couch pillow, three feet of carpet in front of the couch, Kennedy's foot (bleck!). Now, clean up...paging David, calling cell, just to get an idea if relief is in sight, throw boys in their room with gate up, while Kennedy is standing in the bathtub waiting for me to clean her up. Everyone (except Taylin) is hungry. On and on! David walked in the door, phew! We might have a late dinner, but now we can do it all together.





With all the fun and build up, it made me think about Noah's Ark. I was reminded about the flood when I complained of a little pouring rain in my day. I didn't get to flooding stages. I didn't have to endure for near as much time. Even the hour seemed like the whole day. I had supportive friends rallying around me to laugh, cry and throw in some life saving devices ;) I really don't feel in any way burdened. Life can throw me punches, but I feel like I have boarded Noah's Ark a long time ago to prepare for these flooded times with a great family, friends and a loving Savior. I have gained great friends along the way. I have a testimony of a Savior who will lift me up when I just can't stay above water alone. Swimming with four kids holding on can get a bit difficult. Your not treading water anymore. More like gasping for air and hoping a log is nearby...or they decide to teach themselves how to swim in the state of an emergency.





I have re-evaluated my endurance. I told David the other day, after a day that I felt ended in failure, that I wish I could just run races all the time. It is the one thing I can feel successful at. Not so much a top placing or time, but a completed task. There are things I will never see the end of, never finish. There are things I will see the end of my labors some day. Many things in life are not measured by an end. Oh, to find Joy in the Journey...in the now. I must endure. Don't worry, I am not in the dumps everyday. They are the days that make me tighten my boot straps and work a little harder. Sometimes it does hurt. Most of the time I can go to bed with peace in my heart and mind. There are moments I don't know how long I will have to endure (i.e. when will David be home, when will everyone be healthy, when will they get the potty thing down, when...), those are the hardest. Even if I know David won't be home until after 7PM, at least I know how much longer I have to stretch myself and pace myself. Those things that have an end in sight (i.e., deadlines, David's rotation change, next vacation or Golden weekend) I seem to be able to pace myself. On the other hand, I find myself racing so fast to that end I lose sight of the little joys along the way...actually pretty big joys. If I pay attention those joys will lift me up and help me endure.

I was listening to the Spoken Word (with the Tabernacle Choir) today and the "host" spoke about the Apostle Paul and how he ended his life reflecting on his own endurance. Yes, he had trials and tribulations. Can I say the same as he did(on a daily basis): I have fought the good fight. I have done all I can. I have forgotten myself and served others. I have fought the good fight of faith. I was also touched by the talk given by the LDS Relief Society President, Julie Beck. She had a great talk in General Conference this past April. I can't say I felt inspired the first time I heard her talk. I kind of tuned her out at first, because I misheard something she said and quickly felt like a failure. She spoke about how important it is to be a woman of faith. Much wisdom was shared. This is a nightstand talk.





I need to endure. I need to do it with great faith. I need to find the joy along the way. This scripture has been a great reminder as well: "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20) My biggest goal is to work on the "having perfect brightness of hope."





I found some sweet joys this weekend even while holding Taylin's hair back or holding Cohen's barf bowl. After getting up for the umpteenth time to help Taylin, it really took effort to talk my body into getting up. Taylin was just as tired and wanted the little stomach bug out. After feeling relief she said,"Mom, my stomach feels better. If you just massage my leg, I can really go to sleep." Two days later and a slight tummy pain, she was very careful as she added food back into her system. It took a while for her to decide what she wanted to eat for lunch. She said, "Mom, I will have half a peanut butter and honey sandwich and some crackers. That won't be too much for my stomach if I go for a half." I am glad she was thinking about quantity. The contents were not what I had in mind, but she did fine. Cohen was even farther off the path of the ideal contents. He hasn't eaten all day. I tried to encourage some crackers or something light. After a long pause and lots of thinking Cohen says with the ounce of energy he has,"Cake, I want a piece of cake." I let him down gently. Poor thing, he was so exhausted he really didn't mind that I turned it down. Kennedy tried to convince me she that her tummy hurt too and she needed to nap. I wasn't holding her back from getting some rest. I wasn't fooled by her big smile, run to the potty and bounteous energy. It was cute to see Kennedy and Teague playing together while Taylin and Cohen were sleeping most of the day. Usually Kennedy is a bit rough with Teague and tries to get a rise out of him. When it was just the two of them, she kindly played with him. They made each other laugh. They followed each other around. So sweet. A tender moment. The biggest joy was that my kiddos were on the ups enough to all be together, yet still slowed enough to cuddle. My moment of all the kiddos and I on the couch without any complaining, bickering, just lots of love...did feel like an eternity. Kennedy was making sure Cohen had some water to drink. Cohen let Kennedy sit in his lap. Teague was comfortably laid out over all of us. Taylin was cuddled up to my other side playing with my hair. Simple joys! Simple joys can be a huge strength. I just have to slow down enough to see them.