Be Still: a Lesson on Reverence

I am teaching sharing time in primary on Sunday and I'm pretty excited.

We are having a lesson on Reverence. 

(Cause we need it. Summer gets a little wild:)!)

To start I am going to tell a very simplified story of

Finding a Treasure:

I have always loved collecting sea shells. 

But the one I found on this particular day is special.

I found it on South Beach in Oregon half tucked in the sand like this one:

 I loved South Beach because you could walk 100 yards into the ocean and the water would barely cover your rain boots.

There were always pieces of sand dollars at this beach, and I really wanted one.

We came alone to the beach. And by alone I mean we were new and alone to Oregon and Ben was working.

He worked 355 days of the 365 days that year - and not 8 to 5 - sun up to after sun down.

Moms of young kids know the feeling of constant chaos and needs of little people and the irony of feeling so isolated when you're constantly surrounded.

And I felt it, even while I loved watching these cute kiddos run around:

To make it more poignant,

While we were there we saw these people on the beach:

Doesn't that look fun?

I wished I could do that.

But they don't let moms with 3 babies go.

Then, I turned around and saw this:

I could see Ben and I doing that. (Except I would look super unskilled.)

But he was working.

At that point, I had a hard time seeing when these circumstances would ever change.

This was heavy on my mind. I prayed for peace while I stood quietly and watched the waves.

After walking just a couple more steps in the water

I stopped and looked down to find my treasure:

Three days before we came here I wrote down my list of goals on my blog and I had listed: find a sand dollar.

I'll be explaining to the kids that this treasure has to be handled carefully and kept in a special place.

How do we treat treasures? How I take care of a treasure is respecting it. In a similar way, we can treat treasures that are Heavenly Father's with respect and care. In places such as the temple, church, or, the scriptures, our family, and even ourselves. This is showing reverence to Him. 

Psalms 46:10 says,

 "Be still, and know that I am God."

If I had been doing this:

I never would have found this:

Finding treasures of knowledge don't always come from fun adventures, they come from quiet moments of reverence and reflection.

And that can bring true happiness.

Wherever you are.

Really, our outside circumstances can be beautiful or holy in and of themselves, but it is what's inside us that determines reverence or holiness to us.

We have been counseled to stand in holy places. Here are some other "holy places" to me:

even though it looked more like this:

“Reverence is an attitude toward Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ... It is something we feel inside our hearts no matter what is going on around us.” L. Tom Perry

In church, keeping our bodies still 

literally helps prepare our hearts and minds to receive inspiration.

And let the spirit teach us about God.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

California does have a lot to do, but I am hoping to find more treasures by finding balance. 

We sure do miss South Beach!!

1. Rev'rence is more than just quietly sitting:
   It's thinking of Father above,
   A feeling I get when I think of his blessings.
   I'm rev'rent, for rev'rence is love.
   When I'm rev'rent, it shows in my words and my deeds.
   The pathway to follow is clear.
   And when I am rev'rent, I know in my heart
   Heav'nly Father and Jesus are near.
   
   Some of the basic ideas aren't mine, they're from a friend from another wards' sharing time, but I heard it was good and she let me use them!

From Day One - Life Lessons

My first baby turned eight yesterday!
Most of the lessons I have learned about parenting so far I actually learned the first moments of parenthood.

I was in the hospital for three days, and I kept waiting for someone in the hospital to come in to teach me about how to be a mom. No one came and as the moment to go home from the hospital approached I started to panic! They even gave us a video to watch before we left and I thought it would have helpful training tips, but it was just some random informational thing maybe about carseats or something. 

I had random (no history) preeclampsia with my first pregnancy. It left me so weak I couldn't really walk for the first week after I left.

Ben changed the first diapers and took care of Cody in addition to cleaning up the alpacas and house we were house sitting, finishing his finals, and preparing to go to an interview in Washington two days later (where we ended up going!). This was all supposed to happen before Cody was born but my water broke early (at the law firm where I worked in their new office! ha!). 

The medicine they were giving me intravenously made my vision blurred but I remember as my vision started to return two days later I watched Ben sit down in a chair by the hospital bed. I have never seen such a look of sheer exhaustion in my life. It snapped me back into {slow} action. I sat up, told him to go lay down and rest, and started taking care of Cody.

Lesson #1

Once you have kids, if you are resting, someone else is exhausted.

Lesson #2

Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.
(Those two don't really work together. Ah, the irony of motherhood.)

Lesson #3
and most importantly-

"It's not about me."

This little phrase has helped me in big decisions
like whether or not to work
(that works for my situation and I feel blessed to be able to stay home. personally.)
and small decisions
like whether or not I lay in a hospital bed or get up and start being a mom.

Mama said there'd be days like this

We went to our neighborhood water park for Memorial Day

After a while of playing Macey curled up in her towel and laid there.

I finally took her home- she had come down with a fever.

That night she didn't have a fever.

At about midnight she came in 

Fainted

Then Threw up.

and was saying strange things and walking crooked.

We were up most of the night.

Thinking she had some sort of heat exhaustion I took her to the doctor the next morning to make sure everything was ok.

(Cody had also developed a fever the day before too, but it went away and he seemed fine. He stayed home from school to be 24 hours fever free and came to the doctor with us.)

The doctor said Macey should be just fine and he wasn't concerned about any of the symptoms I described because she seemed alert and just fine today and didn't have a fever.

He checked her lungs.

Then he checked Cody's

Then he checked Mackayla's

They all have walking pneumonia.

(It's the least serious kind.)

That night, after the fifth time Mackayla asked me to take her potty in the last 10 minutes,

I got out a UTI test to check her.

I was trying to coax her to pee on a stick

--I should mention that she insists on being alone while she goes to the bathroom so it was taking a while--

then Cody head butted Macey and got blood all over her blanket and made her tooth a little loose.

Mackayla's test showed up positive.

I called the doc to see if her antibiotics would do double duty on the pneumonia and UTI, all while the kids were screaming.

Luckily Ben was home by this time.

The doctor said it should be okay-the store tests are usually wrong anyway.

All in all, everything was minor

which is awesome and I am SO grateful.

That was a scary night.

The kids have been relatively good considering~

It's almost noon and I am still not dressed but we have made a couple crafts, some zucchini bread, mini bake stuff and an egg crate alligator...

Que PBS cartoons. :)

This Week's Randomness

We finally got our garden spot in our little community garden. 

It started out full of weeds and we will see how it ends up! I can't wait!!

 We spent a weekend afternoon this last weekend riding bikes, playing handball and riding the wiggle rider. Macey's getting good at bikes and Cody's getting good at handball!

 Sunday night I helped with the baptism preview for all the kids turning eight this year. I am so excited for Cody to do this next year! 

And on the top of those strawberry shortcakes is Trader Joe's real cream - AMAZING.

 Mackayla and I went on a walk one morning. We found this little bush with tons of these fluffy plants that look like something out of Dr. Seuss' books. 

Too cool. {the plant and the baby}

 During Macey's dance class we watched our little friend and watched all the cars. It reminded me of Cody at two and how we had to comment on every truck, bus and plane that passed. It's so sweet and fun and boy.

 Speaking of boy, Cody has been catching lizards on our walks home. These are blue bellies.

  Earlier this week the kids were all huddled around something on the stairs. I asked them what they were doing and they said watching a spider. It was huge! So I stayed calm and freaked out and told Cody to throw it in the toilet or else it would make babies and we would have tons in our house. He announced, "Oh! I think it was making babies on the stairs." I stopped and asked, "How do you know?" "Because it was sitting still in the corner over there." We're good. on all counts. And he threw the spider in the toilet.

 Macey's preschool class went to Chik fil A today. She loved it. 

I dropped off Mackayla at a friend's house while Macey was at preschool and Cody was at school. We are doing a babysitting swap...the most ingenious thing ever invented. Why have I not done this before? Actually last year I really tried and it never worked. I went shopping BY Myself at Target

and then went to Cody's class to be a mystery reader!

It's the little things.

33

I'm 33 years old.

Kinda old. Kinda young in the grand scheme of things.

Ben took all the kids to get me a birthday present one night.

The kids wrapped it and made sure I didn't see it before they gave it to me.

They are so cute. They got me workout clothes.

I'm going to bootcamp and it uses muscles I haven't used in a decade, definitely not the running muscles:). Kind of like crossfit, but at a park where your children run around semisupervised on the playground. Love it!

They did such a good job:)

For dinner we had Papa John's Pizza. 

It's my favorite food:)

For my "cake" I made lemon meringue.
I borrowed an America's Test Kitchen cookbook from the library. I love that show! They had this recipe and I really wanted to try it, so I got to make it.

yum

This next part isn't complaining. It's hilarious to me. I'm not sure if I'm going to miss this, but it's soo entertaining.

We went to exchange the size of my birthday present. A quick little morning errand.

Mackayla was cross and cried the whole time I got her dressed. Then I realized she chose to not really eat breakfast so I gave her a granola bar and squeeze applesauce in the car I just barely vacuumed and scrubbed carseats in.

Then the girls debated in the car over which songs to listen to. "Giggo" is Mackayla's favorite, it's actually "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" pop version but at the beginning it says yo yo and Macey thinks it's giggo. We have listened to it so many times I can rap it in my sleep. Macey and I both decided to endure it again over listen to Mackayla whine.

In our quick search for the right size the devil unleashed in Mackayla and she grabbed Macey's squeeze applesauce just as she uncapped it and gave it a giant squeeze. If she can't have it NO ONE can. On our way to check out Mackayla took the new clothes in the cart and wiped her snotty nose (from crying) with them. By the time we got to check out she decided to pick her nose. I couldn't get her to stop and pay at the same time. Then the devil inside of her unleashed on Macey once again and for no apparent reason she lunged at her grabbing face and hair. 

The sales kid was either entertained or appalled.
Our quick errands are awesome.

Potty Training. Who is really trained?

So interested in going and so excited about it, Mackayla used to DEMAND that I take her to the bathroom at regular intervals. Really. When we got home from Hawaii we only had one diaper left. I kind of thought...ready or not! But when something suddenly becomes required...that's the end of that fun.

So, as far as potty training goes.
Mackayla was potty trained for one week.
She still is, but now she's had three accidents since my last posting. One on the lovesac. Cleaning advice?
It could for sure be worse. At least she's poop trained. (Maybe I just jinxed myself!)
I am potty trained. I don't love being potty trained. Today, neither does she. Frankly I'm not that vigilant. The part we 'negotiate' the most is wiping and getting pants back on. So she often goes naked.

I've discovered there are many definitions of potty trained.
For the record: POTTY TRAINED to me now is knowing you have to go, pulling down your own pants, going, wiping, pulling up your own pants, and not wearing diapers to bed. That is going to be a loong way down the road. :)

In summary, if I could rewind one week I would do and tell everyone I know...to wait until you can negotiate deals with your kid! or at least til they can pull up their own pants:)

How much is a homemaker worth?
According to that article, $96,000/yr
I have always wanted to find that answer. They forgot to add potty training, that should be expensive!

Moms' Work

To our mothers aka grandmothers:

We love you!

We miss you,

We can't wait to see you!

The other side says "I love my mom because she gives me blueberries."

My job is easy:)

Aren't we CUTE?!

One of my favorite motherhood quotes: "Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make an honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be."

Jeffery R. Holland

Love him!

Today, we leave! For a 14 hour drive and a test for Ben mixed in the middle. Wish us luck!

Miss Independent

Miss Mackayla

Fiercely Independent

Also Sweet

all moms know 'terrible twos' start at 18 months

they're not so terrible

just require a lot of patience

and a little more patience

You bring a little flair to your independence with your style

(those are your favorite boots even though they're too big)

We got out your summer clothes yesterday. 

You. were. thrilled.

You pointed at the ones you liked and told me they were "Cute."

And let me know over and over, "Mine."

You are our little ANT POLICE

Whenever I hear "Aaa" urgently yelled over and over I know to grab a kleenex and get an "ANT!!!!"

Every morning is a negotiation over how many animals and blankets you can bring to take Cody to school and whether or not you'll let me carry you so we can hurry (never) and if you'll let me help you out of the huge (to you) van (rarely).

You have almost pottied trained yourself:) I am still waiting to start:).

Go Beavers at OSU!

 I gave my kids the little drawing I made them while I was away.

They loved it and carefully cut it into tiny pieces and chose their favorite pieces:)

These pics were taken Saturday morning...Mackayla had already changed three times. everyone is a little scruffy but if we got ready we wouldn't take pictures. So. They are perfect.

 We started swim lessons and the kids love it because they're with their cute friends this time! 

Ixnae on the ottypae

Multiple times per day Mackayla will tell me "pee." And want me to take her to the bathroom. 

And now she will sit down and go.  

She mostly just loves to grab pieces of toilet paper and throw them in. 

Yesterday I sat her on then decided she had had enough fun and got her off. She protested. Put her back on. off. on. off. Finally she went and let me take her off. But in between there I gave in and like a little toddler myself exclaimed "I don't want to potty train you!" She peered at me unconcerned. I'm sure that didn't deter her at all.

We have a LOT of traveling in our near future and I would prefer to do it with diapers. Is that so wrong? I am abundant with my praise...but I'm not going to encourage it yet:)
Yep. Way too little for me.
But she thinks she's big.

Update:
Last night as we were trying to finish some stuff up with the kids before we sent them to bed
Mackayla started begging to go "pee."
I tried to tell her later
But she persisted
I finally took her in and told her I would be back
She was great with that
When I came back she told me to go
I came back a minute later and she had pooped too
I think she's got this under control
Still. Not ready.

You Have Your Hands Full

Shopping with all three kids here will always, guaranteed, every time, get this response:
"You have your hands full!"
From at least two people.
Every time.
I mostly just politely laugh; in my mind I'm thinking three is not that many and they're not that close together.
They are right, it's a little chaotic, but in a good way. I wonder if they see it that way.

Depending on the section of the store someone sees me in determines if I'm proud or embarrassed.
Usually I'm proud as we first enter
and Macey starts yelling that she wants more fruit and more veggies.
Not proud that she isn't speaking in a normal volume, just proud she sounds like a healthy eater.

For some reason the volume of her voice can only be a yell in a grocery store.

Then I get more and more embarrassed as we near the candy section and she and Mackayla begin yelling that there is candy. And they want it.

Last time Macey stood up in the cart held her arms out wide and yelled at the top of her lungs "I want more and more candy!" like she had hit the jackpot.

People in Oregon are so healthy. I'm surprised they sell candy at grocery stores, let alone let young children have more and MORE of it.

Mackayla is becoming 'helpful.'

She is still easily distracted too.

If she comes to me really annoyed I can ask her to help me and she forgets all about her problem.

The other day I grabbed the first thing I could find and asked her to put it away. A random bowl in the kitchen. She knew right where it went.

She calls Cody "Co. Wee." and Macey "May. Ee."

Yesterday we made cookies.
Standing on her little chair by the dough she looked up at me and said
"I try it?"
"Sure." I said.
"OK."
Then I stopped and asked her and Macey, "Did you just talk to me?"
Has my baby been talking to me or is this her first sentence? I don't know.
It is cute though.

She's pretty laid back. But if you cross her you will be mortally wounded, especially if you are Macey.
She's pretty tough and can shake off a fall pretty well.

Yesterday she changed her outfit six times. Ben thinks I am doing too much of her laundry because she grabs clothes out of her drawers all the time; so I should put child locks on. If he does it that's great, otherwise I will just let her change. She's usually really dirty anyway:)