Elightenment

I feel like in the last couple of days a light has gone off for me.  Since Violet arrived three months ago I have felt entirely overwhelmed nearly 95% of the time.  Meeting the demands of four busy children has seemed impossible and I have felt like I am always twenty steps behind.  The minute I would get the house in order I would turn around in what felt like moments and it would be back in the upheaval that it was before I started.  My frustration with the kids increased daily as it seemed that they had a collective goal to make things as difficult for me as is humanly possible.  Then yesterday morning while I stood in the center of my bedroom staring at the four piles of dirty laundry on the floor and looked into our hallway that was littered with all manner of things that needed to be tidied and taken care of Lillian walked in carrying one of her latest favorites from the library.  She held her book up in front of her little face and asked if I would read it again and just as I opened my mouth to tell her that I had too many things to do the thought came into my mind, "this is why you're home."  In that instant it finally occurred to me that the Lord didn't care if I got the laundry done that day or if my house looked like a Toys R Us or if dinner wasn't ready the second Allan walked in the door.  In that moment all that He required of me was to read to my little girl because that is what she needed from me.  Years ago I made the decision to stay home so that I could do the things that were important to our children, like read their favorite stories and play Candy Land and do puzzles and rock them to sleep in the afternoons.  I wanted to experience the highs and lows of their days with them, to play with them and teach them and in the craziness of the last three months I had lost sight of that.  I made a goal in that moment as I stared into my Lilly baby's pretty face that I would try harder to let go of the not so important things of the day so that I could focus on the so important things.  When Walker asked me to play Candy Land minutes after finishing Lillian's book I put my laundry basket down yet again and played.  When Lillian wanted to play with the playdoh that we made that morning for a whole hour after lunch I did that too.  When Emma returned home from school and had story after story to tell me about her day I did my very best to stop what I was doing, look her in the eyes and listen until she was finished.  Then this morning I woke up and promised myself that I would do it again.  And miraculously it has made all the difference, not only in my children's attitudes and behavior but in my level of productivity and feelings of accomplishment at the end of the day.  Despite the fact that I'm reading and playing and listening more I'm still managing to accomplish the things that I need to to feel like a successful homemaker.  As has been the case many times before, I've learned that following a gentle prompting from the Spirit can bless my life in ways that I couldn't have foreseen.  Not only that, but that I have a Heavenly Father who is aware of me and of the frustrations and struggles that I go through and who wants me to be happy and fulfilled and successful in all that I do.  With His help I can be the wife and mother that I want to be, regardless of how impossible that feels at times.  So tomorrow I'll keep at it and be grateful for these fleeting moments that I have with my babies while they are home with me.

"No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother's love"

- David O. McKay

Sunday Afternoon

Today is the warmest Fall day that I can remember in a very long time and tomorrow will be even warmer with a high of 28 degrees.  The kids did their best to take advantage of the beautiful weather and raked up the few scattered leaves that we have in our yard only to throw them around.  

It was a very nice way to spend our Sunday afternoon.

Then I got a couple of spare minutes with Violet and was able to get some pictures of her too.

She was feeling very serious so this is the only picture that I got of her sort of smiling.

I swear she gets cuter everyday!!

Lillian Gets a Haircut

One Sunday afternoon after returning home from church and getting lunch I told the kids I needed to rest for just a couple of minutes.  Violet was only about four weeks old and after at least two middle of the night feedings I knew that all I needed was a 20 minute power nap to help me make it through the rest of the day.  So I asked Emma to keep an eye on things and headed up to lie down with the baby.  I was asleep in an instant and was awakened 15 minutes later by the kids screaming about something Lillian had done to her hair.  More specifically this...

Apparently she felt like her bangs were getting a little of hand so she decided to take care of them herself.  We're lucky she didn't take a chunk out of her scalp because the hair underneath was so short she may as well have used clippers.  Thank goodness the kids found her when they did or she wouldn't have had any hair left!

Just so that you can grasp the gravity of this hack job, here is what her hair looked like just a couple of days prior.

 

Finally on the first day of school, just about two months after her self inflicted haircut, her hair had grown enough that I could take her to have the hairdresser do what she could to fix it.  I think it turned out pretty darn cute and hopefully she won't attempt it again on herself or her sisters.

iPhone Update

With my cellphone contract coming to an end in a couple of weeks I am due for a phone upgrade and needed to get my pictures transferred onto the computer.  So here are some of my favorites from the last year or so.

The snow pile in our cul de sac

Ruby Tuesday

Always sharing

Haircut by Daddy

Fort Edmonton Bridge

Goofy Girl

"Look into my eyes"

Royal Alberta Museum

and again

Skating with Uncle Des and Auntie Haley

Snoozing in Daddy's suitcase

Dino Dancers

Fashion Forward

Easter Outfits

Sweet Baby Vi just hours old

"Shhh! Sorry baby, I don't have any milk for you."

Kindergarten Kid

Walker headed off to his very first day of kindergarten yesterday and despite the fact that I spent at least one night crying myself to sleep thinking of my sweet boy walking the big hallways of the elementary school, he was so ready.  He hardly batted an eyelash as he waved goodbye and marched into the school in anticipation of spending the afternoon with his amazing kindergarten teacher.  When we picked him up after school he was beaming and couldn't wait to tell us about his afternoon.  Not surprisingly, his favorite parts were recess and snack.  He can't wait to go back on Monday and I am so excited that the transition has been a smooth one.  I even got a nap in with my two little girls while we waited for Emma and Walker to be done with school.

My handsome boys

 

Lillian was all to happy to say goodbye to him after he spent the morning terrorizing her at every turn.  What is it that makes brothers do that?!?

He is so handsome and grown up I can hardly believe it most days.  His sweet face just makes my heart melt.

School, Studly, Sleeping and Smiles

Summer raced by and we began a new school year today.  Emma entered grade three this morning and as always was beyond thrilled to return to school.  She is such a social animal and looks so forward to learning new things and meeting new people.  I never really worry about her when it comes to school or other social settings.  She found out this morning that her two best buddies are in her class again this year and any nerves disappeared instantly.  After school she told us that she "had a huge smile on her face all day".  She's already counting down the hours to tomorrow.

New desk, right in front of course.

Enjoying the traditional milk and cookies.

Walker will start kindergarten on Thursday and unlike his big sister he is less than enthused.  He is our home body and would choose our house over any place in the world.  We could be at Disneyland and he would still ask us everyday if we could go home.  I think I feel just as anxious as he does to send him off every afternoon without me and his sisters who love him so much.  At the same time I know he needs it to get out of his shell a little bit.  He helped me make our cookies this afternoon while the little girls were sleeping.

Looking studly after his haircut this morning.

Always his favorite part

And speaking of sleeping, Lillian has entered that awkward phase where she needs to cut out her naps but most days just can't manage to do it.  Nearly every other day she falls asleep in some obscure place or with her body contorted into some strange position.  Her favorite thing to do lately is to climb into her"sleeping bag" (a pillowcase) and fall asleep on the floor.

Obviously not her toy.

Her "sleeping bag"

Our pretty baby has been fussier than any of the others but when she's up and in a good mood she does nothing but smile and coo.  All three of the kids love to be around her when she's in that kind of mood and can't wait until she's giggling and playing.