Girls Weekend

The weekend before my birthday I got to have a girls trip with some of my favorite ladies.  We had our first ever Atkin girls weekend.  Tom and Shari and their kids had been spending their Spring break with us, so when Friday came she and I drove up to the mountains together to meet our other sisters-in-law who came from Utah.  

It was such a wonderful weekend--mostly full of hanging out and talking.  I did introduce them to the Village Pizzeria:

Regina made sure we worked out a couple of times.  We all made sure we got some good ice cream for our April birthday celebration (3 of our birthday are in the beginning of April).  We sat in the hot tub, watched the snow come down all day on Saturday, and took a little walk in the sunshine Sunday morning:

It was wonderful!  I really did feel recharged on my drive home, looking at the beautiful surroundings and thinking of all the beautiful people in my life.  Thanks so much for making the trip out, everyone!  

One thing you can definitely say for Joe and his brothers is that they picked out pretty awesome wives. :)

Little Things

I wanted to catch up on some little things over the last few months...

Chalk art that Natalie made:

 

 

 

That LOL made me lol. (ha!)  I don't know where she learned that.

 Elizabeth put this helmet on Elijah and was pushing him around like this:

 We have huge pine trees that drop a ton of needles on our driveway and Nate is always so good to help me sweep.  He'll say--"Uh-oh, Mom.  We'd better sweep today."  He's pretty good at, too!

 Just hanging out in the car waiting to pick up the girls after school.  Nate calls this "facetiming" Eli.

 He loves it.

 Nate has started t-ball.  It is pretty darn adorable, I must say.

 I haven't gotten a good picture of him in his uniform yet but I will post one when I do.  It is so cute.  He seems to like it pretty well.  I think he is the youngest and one of the smallest on the team.  

I loved this note for the tooth fairy:

 We had some friends over on a pretty sunny day.  The kids decided that they wanted to go swimming!  Sure enough, they actually stayed in the water quite a bit.  This was the middle of March and that water was cold!

 

 Another early swim:

Practicing a bit on a beautiful sunny day:

 

Elijah pulled Nate's cup for t-ball out of his drawer and started using it as a phone:

 

I love that baby stage when everything's a phone.  

Nate was proud he climbed this tree by himself:

Last night we had a wonderful FHE.  We drove through the green hills by our house and saw deer, turkeys, and a coyote.   Then we found a beautiful spot and just had fun exploring around.  The kids were in heaven and were pretending it was their very own Terabithia (they read that book recently).

 I mean seriously--will you look at this?

 

 

On Turning 30

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about my upcoming birthday and I realized something--I got pregnant with Elizabeth only 3 months after my 20th birthday.   I did the math and I found out that I've been pregnant or nursing for 6 1/2 of the last 10 years.  That's 6 1/2 years where my body was not my own.  Except for a couple brief breaks, I've been changing diapers for almost 10 years.  I thought of the months and months spent potty training my kids. (shiver)

Of course I did some other things, too, during the last 10 years.  I finished college.  I helped Joe finish college and law school.  I read a whole lot of books.  I tutored a few people in math.  I tried to take time for myself and my own interests, but out of necessity that time was limited.  I had little people to take care of (and still do).  

I think some people would read that and feel sorry for me.  I have to be honest and admit that sometimes I feel sorry for me.  I have had this thought cross my mind--"I've given up my best years!  I've given up my 20 year-old body! Has it been worth it?"

The answer to that question is always a deep and resounding yes within my heart.  Thankfully, I know that life is not about achieving and maintaining the perfect body.  Unfortunately, many definitions of beauty that are given voice in our world are impossible to attain or maintain for long.  It is a sad fact of life that our bodies age and wear down.  Isn't it better to love our bodies for what they can do and to recognize that we and everyone around us are so much more than our bodies? 

The fact is that we were given our bodies to do something with them! To help other people.  To give love.  To work.  To learn.  Even to give life to others.  What a miraculous thing that is.  These are not things we do if we can squeeze the time in.  This is what God gave us time for. That applies not only to motherhood but to any act of service to God or one of his children.

I feel good about how I've spent the last ten years.  I've brought 4 beautiful people into this world.  I've fed them until they have learned to feed themselves.  I've taken care of them when they've been too sick to care for themselves.  I've kept them clean until they can learn to keep themselves clean (still waiting for the fruits of those labors :).  I've taught them how to treat other people.  How to apologize.  How to pray.  How to work.  How to read.  How to count.  I've taught them about the world around them.  I am so thankful for Joe who has not only sacrificed a lot so I can stay at home with the kids, but who loves to teach our kids all he can during his time with them.  He supports me in everything I want to accomplish.  

All I ever wanted to be was a mother.  Or a mathematician....

I wrote that when I was 9.

My kids help me to remember how "worth it" this all has been.  They have given me card after card, weeks before my birthday came.  The picture above is one Nate taped to my mirror. They give me hugs and kisses and tell me what a great mom I am, even when I've hidden in my room the night before because I just couldn't handle it anymore (happened last night--again, thank goodness for Joe!).  They love me and they forgive me.  I sure love them and I thank God for them in my prayers every day.  All I want is to be the mother they need me to be.

It feels like a time of transition for me.  My years of having babies and changing diapers might be coming to a close.  It makes me really sad but I also feel hopeful about the future and what it holds for us.  There will be more poop and more potty-training, and a whole lot more teaching.  There will also be a whole lot more letting my kids make their own decisions and mistakes.  That part is going to be hard for me.  

My 20's have been good to me.  Sure, my body isn't the same and I often feel like I've lost half my brain cells. But, I've got four little pairs of arms reaching out for hugs every night.  

I wouldn't change a thing.