Messes Are Okay Now...As Long As They Come With Smiles!

Mmm....watermelon!

Sarah enjoys it too!

Don't ya know you're not supposed to eat the green part Jack? The girls tried to convince him it was a yucky part, but apparently he didn't share their opinion!

Smiles and Laughing...ALL worth it!

Nice dribble coming off his chin...

...with his blanket he used to wipe off the drool and juicy mess...

Viewing the glory!

Get in my BELLY!

All DONE!

Once upon a time ago I was a different kind of mother....almost 9 years ago now i would have anxieties that thankfully now to not exist even in the slightest. Some of that is due to time and being older, some of it from having 4 kids now instead of one, and i have to admit some of it from living on a farm with 14 other people. Whatever the reasons, i have gone from stress to joy at messes. There's a small catch though i will again admit and that is there has to be plenty of smiling and laughing!

That was my experience last night. Now that John has a job we are often subject to late bedtimes as if i need the car we have to then pick him up, and that's at 8pm. A small price to pay for the blessings of a job! In any rate last night we were putting together quick dinners for the kids and i had bought a WATERMELON! The kids wanted it and i couldn't resist. NONE of my kids liked watermelons two years ago...perhaps it's the south, perhaps age, but it sure didn't stop Jack-a-lope! He devoured it! He even started to eat the green part, until i gave him the rest of Sarah's that she didn't want. Soon enough he was a big slobbery, watery, juicy mess! He asked to take his shirt off after the first dribble and then each time watermelon juice trickled down his big belly he proceeded to get his blankie and wipe himself off.

Like i said in the past i would have had plenty of wipes or a washcloth, a bib for sure, and most likely would have even cut it up into small manageable pieces and put it into a bowl with a fork for him. AND i definitely would NOT have let him wipe himself off with his blankie, the one that i then let him go to bed with that night instead do washing...in fact it's still not washed! Ha ha!

I like being a different mom. I like being a mom that can let things go, a mom that knows what doesn't really matter. Perhaps a more experienced mom. A mom that allows her kids to get messy...at least when i know there's plenty of smiles involved! As you can see, he had a very good time, lots of smiles and laughing, giggling even, and i had an even greater time seeing him enjoy himself so much!

How come being in your 30's used to sound so much older?

AND the winner is...JOHN, a.k.a. the Birthday Boy!

Behold the GLORY! One of the greatest board games EVER!

Jack giving Daddy the gift he got for him...Twizzlers!

Er, yeh, there was LOTS of candy from the kiddies!

Christmas wrapping paper a classic! There has to be at least ONE gift wrapped in it!

Sarah's interpretation of what Immanuel did for daddy (it's Strong Bad)...

Gimme the rock sista!

Immanuel showing Daddy his hard work at making almost life size construction paper characters from www.homestarrunner.com...

L to R: Strong Mad, The Cheat, Strong Bad, and Homestar
.

SO creative and such a hard worker! He did this all in one day!

Happy Birthday to you!

Jack helps...

Er...yeh...it was the best i could get, no really! LOL!
It's like a cake FORT! Who can climb those walls?!
Well at least the backside of it anyway...the front is more of an invitation...oh never mind! ;-)

Number 34! That's really close to 35 ya know? 35 sounds pretty old, BUT not as old as it used to. Now 40 sounds old...but i wonder if it still will when we're 39?

Life is busy and plans got changed and we ended up going with our traditional ( in the last 2 years anyhow) Schutz/Clayton/Morgan Birthday get-together. The only difference this time is that we were in our own home! Still it felt just the same and i was again reminded of how much i truly love these friends of ours.

We celebrated with Steak, roasted-red-garlic potatoes, steak fries (for John), broccoli, rice, and ICE CREAM CAKE!!! The ice cream cake as you will notice had a rough life and by "Happy Birthday to you" time, it was...well it still tasted as it should have, let's just put it that way! It was almost 50% off at the store because of whatever they did to it and then when i got it home i realized it didn't quite fit so well into our "you're-living-in-a-double-wide-so-you-must-not-need-a-real-size-fridge/freezer" freezer! It ended up on it's long side and well, like i said you can see the rest from the pictures!

Jack managed to restrain himself the whole birthday song through, which i could tell took an immense amount of effort, and after singing helped John blow out his candles. John then opened presents...lots of candy and other goodies from our friends, and then we had great discussions about the gospel, family, and life in general (our three favorite things to talk about, especially with the farm folk!) while the children played.

That evening the Claytons stayed and we played Sea Faring Settlers of Catan till midnight, which seemed early compared to our past games and the birthday boy won! We convinced the Claytons to sleepover and had waffles for breakfast the next morning!

The birthday was great, at least i hope it was for John anyhow, but it made me realize all the more how much i miss the association of our farm folk AND how difficult it will be when the Claytons leave us to go to Nevada at the end of this month. It makes me cry to think about, and sometimes the only hope i think i have of seeing them again in this crazy world is the fact that Amanda and I would like to arrange the marriage of Jack and Evelyn, BUT that is for another blog!

Until We Meet Again...

A beautiful message of hope and assurance!

Until We Meet Again [click here to see you tube clip]

The Simple Pleasures...

Running....

...and running...

...still running...

...so simple, yet so much fun!

She LOVES to vacuum for me!

Another simple pleasure...well maybe not for me as it does take some time, but hey, what girl doesn't like her hair done? Well it is free right?! The look on that face is priceless though!

I am always amazed at the simple things that bring joy and laughter to children. This afternoon Jack asked for his two favorite blankets to be laid out on the living room carpet. He then started running around in circle on the blankets and singing to himself. I then asked him if he wanted me to add one of mine and he was thrilled. Immanuel and Sarah couldn't resist the simple fun and and Iman joined in on the running while Sarah got more of her own blankets.

We often feel like we need to buy the latest or the best toys for our children, but really how many of us have experienced cheap fun like this? My children enjoy rocks, sticks, forts made out of blankets, cardboard boxes, play-dough (which still amazes me how cheap that is), paper & crayons, and fun music to dance too way more than any expensive toy we buy. Sarah even takes great joy in vacuuming for me and often asks me if she can. I constantly need to remind myself of these simple and cheap or free pleasures and a reminder at Christmas would be timely as well!

More than anything (which is always easy and free) they just want our time. I am reminded of President Monson when he said, "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."

Remember to enjoy the simple pleasures along with your children!

Design a Father's Day Tie

A great and easy craft for your kids to do for Father's Day!

Design a Father's Day Tie | Worksheets | Education.com

A Special Bond...

HUGE smiles, as always for Jack!

Tea cups and balls...

Do it to me too please...

Adoration...

Jack-a-Lopes little feet...or not so little anymore
These are the last baby feet I have now!

Since before he was born Eden has been excited about Jack. Nothing made her day more than holding him as a baby and to this day she takes great joy and pleasure in "mothering" him. She is always aware of him and his happiness or safety.

Jack likewise adores Eden. He calls her "A" although everyonce in a while he'll call her Mommy too. He is bothered if he cannot be with her and gets upset if he sees her cry and asks her "y'okay?" Jack loves horses and I am convinced it is because Eden also loves horses and he pretty much wants to play with whatever she wants to play with.

These two play together well and she gives him piggy back rides and encourages him to use the potty. She'll even put in a movie she knows he likes over one she would rather watch if she knows it'll make him happy. He looks at her like she is his own personal sunshine and she is the only sibling he'll let tell him what to do!

Yesterday I gave him a bath and Eden wanted to join in. They had a great time in the tub having a "tea party" and playing with balls and all Jack wanted to do was whatever Eden was doing. After he got done and I wrapped him up in his towel, he insisted she sit next to him on the bathmat. It's funny to me that even thought hey are 5 years apart they are such great friends. They share a special bond for sure and I know their relationship extends beyond the bounds of this mortal probationary state. A match made in Heaven!

Mother in the Making...

One evening I was looking for Sarah and turned into her room to find this glorious picture you see above. Luckily for me, she is still partially deaf from when her ear drum burst and so she didn't even see or hear me sneak up, until I went away to get my camera and then took the first picture and the flash went off. I LOVE that she was pretending to read to her baby. It touches my heart so much and life becomes all the more rewarding when I come across sweet moments like this one. As I was posting this picture I also noticed the monkey haven she has going on here. Monkey quilt, monkey pillow, monkey pajamas, Curious George in the background, and then she turns the page for me to see and she's even reading about monkey's! I love this little Monkey of MINE!!