catch-up

It has been four years since I taught.  But each spring I am reminded of the joys & sorrows of high school English when I have the honor of helping to grade research papers.  The good papers bring me joy for obvious reasons.  And I'll admit that the awful papers bring me a certain red-pen euphoria as well.  I want to make order of chaos.  But it's the mid-level papers that do me in, torture my soul, weigh down my eyelids, force me into frequent breaks.     

And my current break has been long..considering how behind I am on getting these papers done.  I'll simply justify it as a necessary blog catch-up and pat myself on the back.  One step forward, one step back...definitely my signature dance.

Katie's visit

As soon as I hopped in the car after my afternoon with Katie and her cute family a few weeks back, I cursed myself for not getting a picture together.  I hadn't seen Katie for years...had never met her Tim or their two littles.  But the stars aligned and they took an Arizona detour on their Las Vegas to Virginia move.  Old friends are incomparable. No awkwardness.  No nonsense.  Simply picking up where you leave off.

KT's family in front of the Mesa Temple

But I think Katie's a particularly rare kind of person who any & everyone feels comfortable around.  We first met at BYU, and then she introduced me to her native D.C. when I moved there as an intern...very flimsy words for the way she took me into her heart & home at that time, really.  For that I'm in her debt.  And eternally, unrepayably indebted for an October road trip to Vermont.  Ilovermont.

Our kids were kids on our Wednesday afternoon outing - Davyn turned demon in the museum, and her girlies caught the disease through exhaustion by lunch time.  Yet, we comfortably enjoyed the child-rearing discomfort together for a few hours.  I love you, KT & wish you the best of luck in your move!

Davyn did manage to pause mid-hysteria to kiss Nelly and flirt with the camera...there's definitely good reason we deemed this boy Davynova! 

 
Lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Jones

We met up with them for Grandma's birthday lunch two weeks ago.  I loved this picture of Davyn & Grandpa.

and Savs with Grandma...

My children are blessed enormously in the grandparents department.

 
Haircuts

First, a picture of Aidan at that Grandma b-day lunch above.

and a fuzzy side view...

...and I didn't snap a picture of his tail in the back.  Far too shocking.

Obviously, we were in dire need of hair help.  The next day the whole family did some running around.  After lunch, Jim spotted a barber shop and there was no ignoring the need.  I so wish I had had my camera there.  The experience was hilarious.  These were true barber shop barbers.  And Aidan's wide variety of facial expressions were killing me.  Davyn didn't need a haircut, but when Aidan was finished, he ran up to the seat so we definitely couldn't deny his enthusiasm. 

Here they are the next day in Sunday best:

I know longer hair has swung back into fashion for boys, but the clean cut, old-fashioned styles are my favorite on this dapper duo. 

& in other GOOD news...

My good friend Angie started a blog.  I've been {not-so-}gently persuading her for quite a while.  She resisted steadily through her pregnancy, but was finally & irretrievably reeled in this month when she realized she has the world's cutest twin girlies.  At least that's what I'm assuming.   Whatever the reason, I'm Elated.  I love Ang & you'd think that  & the fact that we live in the same place would equate significant interaction...but life somehow intercedes.  So I love that I'll now be able to keep track of her & her littles in this blog world even when I lag in the real world.
 

Now back to the red pen... 

4 miracles + many prayers

I spent yesterday morning with my friends, Angie, Grace (top), and Sophia (side).  Ang (of course!) had beautiful long blessing gowns for her two.  They were her first purchase as a would-be mother of twin girls.  I went over to practice my camera skills (ha!) on the beauties.  What I learned?  I have  few camera skills!  Babies - while adorable - are blobs that lie there smileless with their hands all over their faces.   And I'm clueless when it comes to angling a decent blob into my frame.  But I loved the indirect dreaminess of these two pictures.  And I mostly loved spending time watching the differences between two little ones who just happened to share the same womb at the same time.

Congrats to Grace & Sophia on their blessing this Sunday.  Two more little ones I know are being blessed Sunday - a niece and a nephew.

Jared & Shanon's Lily (picture stolen from her blog)

Tyler & Regina's Ryder
 

Life is always a Miracle.  I think all four of these babes were born within one week of each other.  Each miraculous of their own accord and situation.  Lily, a gift to Shanon in the wake of the most difficult year of her life.  Ryder, boy number four with an oldest brother only 6.  Sophia and Grace, a long-long-awaited pregnancy with doubled blessings as a result.

But there's one more nephew who is in my thoughts this week.  Megan is now 24 weeks pregnant and just discovered that her little one has a large hole in his heart.  The full extent of what this means?  Who knows, yet (though tests & consultations certainly fill one's mind with worries about possibilities).  At the least, surgery for a newborn.  And somehow that *least* is by far the *most* we can think about at present.

Megs, of course, is a rock...and Tom, of course, is her rock, but it has definitely been a week laden with worries.  Worries amplified by the reality that Megan delivers early with no signs of labor..and this boy needs every chance he can get to become strong before he greets the world.   And the reality for all of us in Arizona and Utah that she is half the states away from us in distance.  How do you send love & support thousands of miles?  Phones & prayers.  While there's definitely miracle to the technological wonder of the former, the latter is the truer Miracle by far.  Our prayers are with you Megs, and there's no better messenger of our love than a Father who knows how to succor All. 

the Monday after

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is over. JoDee and her family came for the week, and my boys lived happily ever after in a world of cousins. I love that they love their cousins. And I love spending time with JoDee.  And I love re-meeting nieces and a nephew who live far away.  Six months in those little lives brings plenty of change to reacquaint with. 

Aidan, Davyn, Madee, Baylee, Crew 

On Wednesday we headed to the Zoo. We’re a zoo family, but I haven’t taken the boys yet this year because it has been so (damn!) hot. Not this time. The day was lovely, and I spent more time watching our own wild animals than those housed in the enclosures. Because..well, we definitely had some characters.

Baylee (the girl who spent the night at my house and told me in the morning that she didn't like cereal.  "You can just put some whipped cream in a bowl and I'll lick that up instead.")

Crew (who LOVED the freedom of "no stroller" time)

 
mine 

Showing them "tomorrow's dinner".  Aidan's ultra-concerned question:  "but who has to eat the bum?"  

I was crazy tired after the zoo, but still hadn’t done my Thanksgiving grocery shopping. Note to self and all others who aren’t sane enough to already realize this wisdom: don’t grocery shop the afternoon before Thanksgiving.

We managed. And survived. But went on to another valuable lesson. Don’t save pie making for 9:00 p.m. on the day before. This episode did, however, happen in good company, at Mandi’s house, with Madalyn in tow (I love when JoDee lets us steal her older girls!). Yes, I fell into erroneously thinking my two pies and Mandi’s four could be whipped out and I’d be home by 10:00 . Not even close. But did the late hour stop me from my ingenous plan of handcutting 30+ pie dough maple leaves to adorn the plainly pumpkin pies? Sadly, no. And it sure didn’t stop us from *quickly* transforming Mandi’s amazing homemade caramel into turtles. I have a talent for falling into the trap of last minute unnecessaries.

But the dinner turned out lovely. Despite turtles that few touched and centerpieces at which Jim rolled his eyes. Of course, we have to have centerpieces.  Yes, I know it's only going to be Cyndee, JoDee's family & us.  But Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving. And matching table cloths and fancy centerpieces make me smile.

 

I ended the day grateful for a JoDee and Cyndee who humored my Boggle love.  And gratitude also came later for a husband who didn't whine when his ASU team lost.  He should have spent his time Boggling with me, I say...

my brother

The only brother, born smack dab in the middle of four willful sisters, last Tuesday our Tyler turned 32.

When we all were in Cedar City this summer, one of our afternoons was spent fishing.  Tyler's skills were uncanny.  Most of us sat with untugged lines.  Not him.  Tyler was reeling something in each time I turned around, and calling for one of his littles (or anyone else's really) to claim the glory. 

with his boys: 

Wesley's catch                Wyatt's catch                 Noah T.'s catch

This is the Tyler I remember...the one who shared my "friend sassies", paved G.I. Joe roads for my Barbie's, and let his bossy big sister be the ever-coveted "Firestarter".  Ah, those were the days:

HUGE smile...it's crazy just how much you look like your own boys!

Tyler is an avid outdoorsman, an ept fix-it man, a tease of a husband to his Gina, an involved dad of FOUR boys, and a brother who allowed me to "hike" in heels without giving too much grief.    But, at my mom's house today I was reminded of what I love most about him.  He has this silly, lighthearted exterior, but there are profound depths under that surface.  Cyn had just found this photo that Tyler sent home during his mission. 

The words he wrote on the back:

"As I sit on the bus and ponder the mysteries of life, my mind reflects on the song 'If Tomorrow Never Comes'.  I have been away from home for twenty months.  I often wonder if the ones I love know how much I love, then a bomb of memories explodes in my mind, flashes of events whiz by like lightning riding the clouds.  The effects of the bomb are the currents of the feelings felt for my family buzzing through the circuits of my brain.  Feelings of love, joy, closeness, laughter, hard times, growth, forgiveness, mercy, protection.  The currents fade.  But the feelings are embroidered by the one who makes the eternities together possible - our brother and saviour Jesus the Christ."

I love you, Tyler.  And I hope you still take time to pen your thoughts so that your four sweet little men will catch glimpses of your inner depths often as they grow older. 

Happy 32nd Birthday!
I'm glad you're close behind me...even if you still manage to look 18!
May the sassies be with you. 

30?!

I can't believe my little sister has hit that number today! A picture of her family at our celebration last night:

 

These four people have become such an integral part of my life that writing that line alone chokes me up. I'm seriously grateful daily that Mandi & Nate moved two streets down from me. Because it honestly influences my life {for the better!} daily. We share dinners, we share preschool driving, we practically share children, but mostly we share this crazy up & down life that is mothering at home with pre-school children. And all of it equals a lighter burden. And so I'm grateful.

30 things you may not know about Mandi:

1. She will always pass on chocolate desserts, but still has an always stash of Hershey’s nuggets with toffee and almonds in the cupboard next to her fridge (second shelf up, in case you ever visit).
2. I sometimes dip into that stash.
3. She loves gelato.
4. And anything strawberry.
5. I think she vacuums her house daily.
6. And I laugh at what she considers a “mess”.
7. Because she is an amazing cleaner.
8. And ironer. Jim often jests that he might start sending his shirts over to Mandi because my idea of ironing is a quick 5 in the dryer. 
   
9. It was only about a year ago that I convinced Mandi to stop ironing t-shirts. And jeans.
10. Since she moved nearby, I have been infinitely more inspired about cleaning.
11. and projects.
12. and daily dinner.
13. and visiting teaching.
14. Even when we were young, she always sought to avoid conflict.
15. But you can tell when she’s stressed in over-internalizing because she clenches her jaws.
16. We often remind her to relax those jaws.
17. One time she didn’t internalize and a door in her house ended up with a hole in it.
18. I was both shocked and proud when I heard about that one.
19. When Mandi was pregnant with Savannah, Megan made her cry by stealing licorice from her.  The mental picture of that incident still makes me laugh.  Oh, lovely pregnancy. 
    
20. She truly & unconditionally loves my children. Even when they’re miserably naughty or stinky or loud.
21. She is an extraordinarily patient mother, who continually searches & strives for ways to be better in that all-important role.
22. She has a very silly side, that most people don’t get a chance to see.  It becomes most apparent when Megan is around.  And it is very apparent in its being inherited by her two very silly (and incredibly cute) girls. 
    
23. I often come over to find her scriptures and Book of Mormon study guide out. She always makes her spirituality a priority. This is a huge example to me.
24. She is as obsessed with trying new recipes as I am.
25. I love having her as a dinner partner!
    
26. She follows rules & directions. With precision.
27. Determined to finish her degree, she spends hours every week working on BYU Independent Study classes.
28. Mandi is completely dedicated to her family, and doesn’t let lots of extras get in the way of her priorities.
29. She would not flinch in saying “yes” to any favor asked.
30. I love having a close partner in crime who gets as excited as I do about herbs & FHE & wreaths & list-making & all the little things our children do each day.

I love you, Mandi, and will forever remember this season of our living so close as one of the best of my life!

Happy Birthday!