4th of July 2016

Cake I made Grandma Barlow

The parade with Aunt Stacie and two of Uncle Lances Sister in Centerville.

 

Mother's Day

Dad brought his mother over to have dinner at our house.  Yes, he and Mom cooked it for us.

We all know how honest I am, so here is the truth about mother's day.  I sent this text to Don on Mother's Day. Lucky for me there are others to focus on on that day.  I am really grateful for the wonderful mother I have and all she taught me about determination and hard work. Just because I get discouraged with my efforts as a mother doesn't mean I will throw in the towel.  That is one thing she taught me for sure. When you feel like the odds are stacked against you buck up and keep moving.

Easter 2016

Valentine's Day 2016

 

Valentine's Day at our house was really great. Don always buys me beautiful flowers. And this year I made him a bouquet of treats.  No picture put it was kind of fun for me to do and I learned that I need to feel the vase with weight so that the treats aren't too heavy.  It was a balancing act.  Also hot glue came off the candy wrappers easily.  So next year I need to either impala the treat or find a better working adhesive for the wrappers. The boys and I visited Don at work on Saturday to give him his bouquet.

Actual Valentine's Day was Sunday and we had French toast and heart shaped eggs. 

After church Don turned on the new CD he made for me of love songs and we danced in the kitchen.  Landon and Kayla were there watching us dance. From this Landon now says that when he gets married he is going to hug his wife, kiss her, and dance.  Don and I aren't perfect at loving each other all the time, but I hope these moments will have an affect on what our children expect in a healthy relationship.

At dinner we gave out all our valentines. I give the boys valentines and Don now has his little princess to give one to.  He gave her a rose.  She was a little confused at first as to what she should do with the flower, but then we put it by mom's flowers and she understood.  Every day following when she would look at it she would say, "Mine, Daddy."  So she honestly knew what was going on. 

Dinner was ok, I always think I can cook this amazing steak, but I just never can.  Anyone want to teach me for next time?  Everything else was great though.  

I am grateful to have so many valentines in my life.  Love is a great way to overcome the hardships that come with family life.

Christmas Fun! (Part 2)

 Jaron did a great job in his Christmas program.

 Pulling taffy with great-grandma Barlow on Christmas Eve.

 Landon couldn't take all the excitement, he crashed on the couch.

 This year we just had them dress up in whatever costume they wanted and then stand when we read their part in the Christmas story in Luke/Matthew.

 The Christmas morning line up.

 The Lightning McQueen micro drifter track Jaron got was a big hit!

 Bryson couldn't wait to go and try out his new snow fling.

Landon and his new dog.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, we love spending time with family and giving gifts to those we love. 
Bryson especially got caught up in the spirit of giving.  He made ornaments for several people, took treats to his neighbor friends, and on Christmas morning gave the gifts that he he bought for others in the family before opening his own. 
Jaron's special moment for the year was giving his gift to his teacher.  He really wanted to buy her flowers, because that is what boys do to show girls they care.  So he smelled all the flowers in the store and selected the one that smelled the best and had the best colors.  We also gave her a gift card so she could get some things she wanted ; )
Eldon's rockstar moment was at Gram's Christmas party.  He was so excited when Gram was opening her gifts.  Taking things out of her box and with a big smile saying, "Gram, we bought this for you!"  And didn't shed one tear when he didn't get to open a gift.
Through the Christmas season we made sure to include Christ and talk about what the true meaning of the season is.  In fact we made them tell us who's birthday we were celebrating before they could open gifts.  I may be a little strict on the point, but they need to know that Christ was the greatest gift ever given and giving thanks for his birth is the reason for the season.

Our Holiday fun so far

The holidays have been full of fun and adventures.  My parent's house has so many leaves!!  The boys had fun playing in those.

 Just before Thanksgiving we had our first big snow.  The boys couldn’t wait to get out and play!  Landon thought it was fun and just stood in the snow wondering what it was.

Thanksgiving was nice with Don’s family.

The day after Thanksgiving up went the Christmas tree! We have had lots of fun with family decorating ginger bread houses.  We had some really great creations.

On 12/12/12 Aaron and Marilyn got married.  It was great to in Utah so we didn’t miss that event.  The boys had lots of fun and waited patiently all night to eat the beautiful cake.  The day after their weeding Jaron took skiing lessons.  He had a great time and did really well.

More holiday fun to come I am sure, but didn't want to get too far behind on photos.

Tradition!

Have you ever pondered the question, why do traditions mean so much to me?  Why do I want to continue those traditions?  As I have been making the 11-layer Jell-O today I have been thinking about that.  Why do I do this every year? It takes so long!  Well why I do it is because it helps me to remember.  Thanksgiving at Uncle Shane’s and Aunt Glenda’s was a good memory for me.  The cinnamon rolls in the morning, the awesome dinner that always had the kid favorite of Jell-O, the Christmas carols, time with cousins (even if I did leave saying that “I hate that Craig!”).  For the record Craig is an awesome cousin and we just had conflicts with who should be in charge.  Those are the memories I think about every time I make the Jell-O.  In a way I am recreating the happiness I had as a child.

Other traditions besides just the holidays that bring joy are scripture study, family prayer, and FHE.  I remember those times sitting with my parents talking about things of importance, things of God.  Those memories warm me up when I feel just a little cold inside. 

Although other things were wonderful about my childhood the traditions, the consistent things that my parents did, are the things that I loved.  I want my kids to have that, to be able to look back and say I loved that about my childhood!  I want them to remember the good and be able to have joy in that.

Halloween

Papa's pumpkin patch

 Our Halloween celebrations were many and although I don't love Halloween, I do love certain things about it.  First thing I love, it means the beginning of the holidays (according to me)!  Second thing, because it is the holidays it means lots of family together time! 

 Our first event of the holiday was a Halloween party put on by Aunt Cathy and Aunt Stacie at Stacie's home.  We all had a blast.  Stacie and Cathy had lots of fun activities planned which included a scavenger hunt, cookie decorating, pumpkin decorating, bingo, a walk with Gram, dinner, and the traditional ghost cake. 

 Then Monday before Halloween we had a big evening.  We went to Payson Market to do a trunk or treat.  There were local businesses there. We got some good coupons and the boys seems to have a good enough time.  We (or should I say, Mom and Dad) carved pumpkins.  Jaron cried at first because his pumpkin was gross inside, but then toughened up a little and pulled a few of the insides out.  Don and I took care of the rest of the insides. Here is the end results.

On Halloween Jaron's school did a costume parade. That night we had soup and then set out for the boys first time of real trick-or-treating, door-to-door and all.  The boys had fun and did really well!

Happy Valentines Day

Valentines Day was great this year. I have a fabulous husband that has it figured out by now what he is suppose to do, which makes it so much easier.
We had our date the Sat. night before. Don made me dinner and then took me to buy some sunglasses. We then ended with ice cream.

Sunday before all the little boys have ties, made by Diana, the multi-talented lady I visit teach.

Day before flowers and chocolates are delivered.
Day of Don works, but I give all my boys their valentine, pink milk . . . the usual stuff. Jaron had his first school valentines day party that he loved. Which might I add, I was not wanted at. He specifically told me not to come because, "Mrs. Parker will be there. You don't need to come too." That night I had made our 7 layer anniversary cake into a three layer sheet cake. So brownie, cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie. Between each layer a marshmallow frosting, topped with chocolate frosting. Seriously love this cake, totally worth the stomach ache I get from eating it. Don and I just spend the evening together at home, once he got home that is. Totally a great Valentines!

Day after. Bryson has his Valentines day party. Lots of fun again.

Catching the Joy

So as many of you know i am a very open person. Here is a deep confession. Four kids has kind of pushed my limits as a person. I am an organized, over achiever. With four kids I just have yet to find the time to do a lot of necessary things because I am so busy trying to keep up with my expectations for myself. With the past 3 I have adjusted after two months to the whole new way of life. But with the events before Landon's birth and the sickness since his birth I just haven't gotten to that place where I am satisfied with my efforts and also satisfied with the product of my efforts. I insist on being happy, even in times of trial JOY and PEACE are still something that I can have. What caught me off guard was the feelings I had. I have never not loved being a mother. I have always loved it and been more than willing to give everything for my family. But when my efforts still weren't good enough in my eyes I began to have feelings of resentment towards my kids & husband. I mean who does that?! Well the lady that doesn't have time to eat, pee, or sleep I think. I started really reflecting on what I needed and why I was so unhappy. Why didn't I like my life? I realized i needed to lower my expectation for myself. There is no such thing as a perfect mother or a perfect wife and trying to be those things was only causing me sadness. I took a step back and realized it is OK for me to take a few minutes to go to the bathroom, eat lunch, and yes even sit down and just hold my baby. It is not a waste of time to take care of myself or let others know that I am willing to give them my undivided attention. The moments will soon pass when my kids are small and want to sit on my lap. The time will pass when they want to talk my ear off. If I don't give my man the time of day, he will soon stop asking for it and we will drift apart. I realized I can't be perfect right now and needed to be happy with what I did have and happy with what efforts I was giving. Because I do have the deep desire to be perfect one day. So I decided, with some help from Don, to catch the joy again.
I start by taking a mayor time out. I went to Utah for a few weeks and did absolutely nothing more than what I wanted to do. I help Landon, slept in a little, ate whenever I wanted, and visited with family. It was a good time and I am really grateful I have such a wonderful family.
Since I have been back I have been trying hard to do the things that matter most. Keeping my Savior close, trying to spend more time with Don, and expressing love to my kids and showing them as well. Love in family after all is often spelled T-I-M-E. But at the same time realizing when I need some time to myself to take it. I can't feel others cups if mine is empty.
If you come over and my house is a mess, know I will get to it and know I love my kids enough to let it go sometimes. We can only take three things with us when we leave this earth, our knowledge, our desires/feelings, and our RELATIONSHIPS. Life is meant to be a joyful thing, so toss the guilt and catch the joy!