To Benjamin on His Birthday

Dear Benjamin,

Oh my dear boy. Today you are two! How in the world did that happen?! And so quickly too!

This year you have gone from a little, barely crawling baby to a full-fledged toddler. You run everywhere and climb on things. You do your best to keep up with your big brother and sisters. "Hey!" you shout. "Nainy! Eeaah!" I don't think you know how little you are. I love that about you.

I also love your blonde, curly hair and blue eyes. I wonder if your hair will stay blonde? I secretly hope so.

You have the best smile and the best laugh. You slide down the stairs on your belly faster than I can run down them. You love your blanket and can hardly handle being away from it. Your binky too, but we're trying to cut back on that, aren't we? (It's not going so well. You are winning on that front for now!) Some days you will hardly eat a morsel and I wonder how in the world you will survive. Usually you will take some bites from Daddy and that makes me feel better.

You love books and trains, cars and planes, balls and bath time. You love to color while Sam and the girls do schoolwork. You love action and attention, and sometimes demand it from all of us! You have added so much fun to our family. It's hard to remember what we were like without you.

In March, Daddy and I went away for a few days. We'd never done that before and it was hard for me to be away from you. Grandma said you were a perfect angel (besides not eating much). But once we got home I didn't think you'd ever forgive me for leaving you! You'd scream if I left the room and cling onto me if I tried to put you down. My goodness it's nice to be loved so much! (But a little exhausting too, if I'm honest.)

These days Lainy is the only babysitter you will tolerate. Leah reads you books when you're sad. Sam entertains and plays so good with you. Daddy gets you to eat and makes you laugh. And I really love the time when everyone else is at school and work and I get you all to myself. We love you so!

Happy Birthday, my littlest boy.

Love,
Mama

Gifts of Togetherness

Brad and I have decided to do Christmas a little differently this year. It started as a conversation at the beginning of  November. We'd just spent too long cleaning up our house before bed. The kids were frustrated. We were frustrated.

"How can we get away with not giving our kids more stuff for Christmas?" I asked Brad.

And so we started talking. Could we give them a trip to Boston? But we wouldn't go until June and that's too far away. Could we just do experience gifts? Movie tickets? Ski lessons?

Then we started talking about what we want Christmas to be for our family. We've never been crazy gift-givers (thanks med school and residency budget), but we definitely need to be more thoughtful about what we give and bring into our house. And December seems to fly by so fast. Last year we didn't even have time to do some of our favorite traditions. We want Christmas to be more meaningful. Less busy. Less stuff. More time together.

We were still mulling things over the week of Thanksgiving when I saw a story on Instagram from a lady I follow (Ralphie Jacobs from Simply on Purpose). She talked about the advent calendar her family does for the month of December. Each day they do an activity together. They call it "Gifts of Togetherness". What a sweet idea.

I talked it over with Brad and we came up with a plan for December. We bought a cute advent calendar and scheduled the things we want to make a priority. The rest we filled in with super simple, sometimes silly, things to do together at home. Santa Claus is taking care of  Christmas wishes, they drew names for each other, and they are receiving experience gifts from Brad and I. Super simple.

We're 10 days in, and I'm already loving it. I think the kids are too. Time, which seemed to be hurtling by, is slowing down a bit. Children are small for such a fleeting time. I'm trying to treasure these nights by the light of the Christmas tree when there's no where else we'd rather be.

Washing the Blanket Day

The day we wash Benjamin's blanket is always a long one around here. I have to time it just right so it will be washed and dry by the time he needs a nap. Then I pry it out of his little hands to put it in the washer.

It's a long wait...

Poor guy.

The best part is when we pull it out of the dryer, nice and warm and clean! Then all is right in his world again. Sweet boy. 

Mr. Roberts

We had some sobering news over the weekend. The beloved principal of my kids school was killed in an ATV accident over the weekend. His son, who is a classmate of Lainy's, was in the accident too but is going to okay.

We found out about the accident at church. I guess it had been floating around Facebook, but I hadn't seen it. I wish I had. My kids learned about it from their friends in Primary.

Monday morning we drove up to the school to see this:

 Someone had put a bunch of hearts around the fence. The flag was at half-mast.

I went to volunteer in Sam's class Monday morning and barely made it in the door without crying. The staff had helped students draw little notes to Mr. Roberts on the sidewalk. Some kids painted rocks. It was all so sweet. And so very sad.

Throughout the week different restaurants catered meals for teachers. Domino's sent pizza to the whole school for lunch one day. And Broulims donated donuts for every classroom in honor of Mr. Roberts "Random Donut Day". There was a sweet, almost reverent feeling there.

The funeral was Friday. They canceled school so teachers and students could attend. So many people came they opened up an overflow location.

 The kids and I decided not to attend the funeral. They had so much support. Instead, we went to the mountains on a little hike. I had heard that Mr. Roberts loved the mountains, so I figured we could pay a small tribute to him there.

All week, I've been overwhelmed with the response of the community, and by the impact one life can have. It's incredible. You are missed, Mr. Roberts.

Apple Picking

One of our favorite things to do in the Fall in Massachusetts was to go apple picking. It's the state pass-time in the Fall. We'd choose a different orchard every year. I have such fond memories of picking apples, then getting apple cider and donuts afterward.

Last year we didn't go. The girls kept asking if we were going, but Idaho is short on apple orchards. We missed it. But this year I heard through a lady on Facebook about a small orchard nearby. We had to call Mr. Brunson and set up an appointment and I jumped all over the chance!

It was a cute little orchard. Not the well-oiled commercial orchards of New England, but that was totally ok. And his prices were amazing! We picked Honeycrisp, Sweet 16, and Golden Delicious.

Benjamin kept taking one bite out of an apple, then putting it in the box. Funny kid.

We had a fun morning, picked 3 bushels, and spent the next week canning applesauce, apple pie filling, and making apple cider. It made us a little less homesick for Massachussetts.

Jenny's Lake

Memorial Day weekend we drove up to Jenny's Lake near Jackson. It's been a long time since we've seen the Tetons. They're just as beautiful as we remembered.

There were a lot of people around, but as we got further into the hike it got much quieter. Just how we like it.

About a mile in we passed a group who said they'd just seen a brown bear! They were from Nevada. They showed us pictures they'd taken of the bear and Brad and I were a little alarmed. They'd gotten really close to it! I don't think they realized how stupid that is. Lucky they didn't get hurt!

We saw no bears. Just beautiful scenery.

 

The kids hiked great. Even Benjamin did pretty well in his carrier. He got antsy the last mile and Brad took off with the girls before he totally lost it. So Sam and I just walked at our own pace. He's a good hiking buddy.

At the end of the hike we soaked our feet in the lake. It really is gorgeous. What a beautiful corner of the world.

To Alaina On Her Birthday

Dear Lainy,

You are 11-years-old today! Hard to believe. This morning I was looking at pictures of you as a brand new baby. You were so little. A beautiful baby. Daddy and I look so young too! We didn't know what we were doing! Sometimes I think we still don't know. We've all grown a lot these past 11 years.

A lot has happened since your last birthday. We had just moved to Idaho and you had just started 5th grade at a brand new school. (In Idaho your birthday is the first week of school! Do you like that, or did you prefer having it the last week of summer like in Massachusetts?) You were a brave new girl at school, and you fell in with some really awesome friends. I can't tell you how happy Daddy and I are about that! Good friends seemed to be hard to find in your grade at the Dobeare. It was the only thing I didn't love about that school. I'm so happy you've got some fun, smart, kind friends to be around here. It was an answer to our prayers for you.

You also tried a bunch of new stuff: gymnastics, soccer, softball... You would have tried more, but sports are kind of funny in Idaho. We'll figure it out. We want you to try anything you'd like. Experiment with a bunch of things and find out what you really love.

Then there was the part where you were sick for 3 months. That was so hard. I hated seeing you suffer. I was so grateful when we finally figured out that you needed your tonsils out and got your surgery scheduled. But then the recovery was so awful! I was so worried about you. I would go into my room and cry at night because I felt so helpless. But you're made of strong stuff. It was hard, but we made it.

I'm so happy you are well and whole again. I'm excited for this next year. I'm happy that you are still in the elementary school. Leah and Sam look up to you so much! It will be fun to have you all in one place. And Benjamin adores you. (Thank you for always being so helpful with him!) Daddy and I love you so much. We love that you want to talk with us and be involved in our conversations. But we also love that you still wanted toys for your birthday this year. You are growing up into such a fun young lady! Don't be in too much of a hurry, okay?

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Love,
Mom

Huckleberries

As soon as Lainy was feeling better, we started making plans for the rest of our summer. We feel like we've been robbed of summer waiting for her to get better! On the top of my list was huckleberry picking for two reasons: 1. My kids have never tasted fresh huckleberries, and 2. We always loved blueberry picking in Massachusetts so I knew they'd enjoy this.

Brad was climbing Mt. Borah for High Adventure, so we met up with my parents and drove out to Moody. I'm not sure if Moody is an actual town or just a bunch of farmland. Either way, it's really pretty out there.

After a short hike, we found some berries!

Benjamin wouldn't let one touch his lips. Crazy kid. But he liked feeding them to Grandpa.

"It's delicious!" said Lainy after her first berry.
"It's kind of sour, but I like it." said Leah.
"It's great!" said Samuel.

 We foraged one spot for a while, then went deeper into the woods to find more.

The old trail has not been maintained. There were trees down everywhere and you could barely see the trail in some places. But that made it a little more charming.

Everyone picked for a while. When the boys got bored I took them back to the creek to play.

There weren't as many berries as we hoped, but we got enough to cover the bottom of our pails. Plenty to satisfy us!

This was the view on the drive back:

There was a forest fire and a storm brewing to the north. The dark sky against the yellow grain fields...so beautiful! We saw two whitetail deer--a doe and a buck-- eating wheat in a field. Then we got a flat tire. (womp, womp)

What's an adventure without a little hiccup? Everybody got out of the van to watch the storm while Dad changed the tire. With all the doors open on the van, a big dust storm blew in. We got the kids in the van as fast as we could and shut the doors, but there was dust everywhere! Yuck!

Luckily the rain missed us, Dad quickly got the tire fixed, and we were on our way again.

More than the berries, getting outside in the fresh mountain air felt so good. And huckleberry pancakes the next morning were the icing on the cake!

Start Over

I have let this blog sit and sit for too long. I miss it. I need the release writing gives me and I love the record it leaves in this little corner of the internet.

Part of the reason I haven't blogged for so long is that I wanted to catch up on everything. To fill in the gaps. But that is just too overwhelming. So let's start over.

We live in Ammon, Idaho. We moved here last July. Brad joined a practice in Idaho Falls, after receiving many amazing job offers around the country. The most alluring was to stay in Boston and work for a very prestigious practice. And we loved Boston so! But we felt the pull to come back "home". Brad's colleagues thought we were crazy to turn the offer down, but let's face it, they already thought we were crazy with 4 kids! So we made the cross-country trek once again.

We bought a little home with a big yard in a great neighborhood and have spent the last year fixing it up. The yard was neglected, the previous owners had cats (new flooring!), and the basement was "unfinished" (with a few fun surprises the previous owner had attempted to complete). It's been really fun to work on our own home. We feel so blessed!

Lainy is 10-years-old. Almost 11 (?!). She's made some really great friends here. Something she didn't really have in Massachusetts. That's made a big difference for her. She's definitely a pre-teen. We're all figuring out how to handle all the emotions! But she's still the same amazingly smart, kind, reliable, fun girl she's always been. This year she's played the violin and piano, done gymnastics, and played soccer and softball. She's a go-getter. And so, so helpful to me at home. We're so happy she's our oldest.

Leah is 8-years-old. Her baptism in January was such a special night. She remains our tender-hearted, sweet, thoughtful girl. But she's also hilarious. She's the one pushing us to play games and trying to make us laugh. The one blight of the year was her school teacher. What a disappointment to come from amazing the most amazing elementary school in the world to a slightly angry, gruff 2nd grade teacher! It was rough some days, but Leah stuck it out. This year she also played the violin and piano, played basketball, and did ballet. Her ballet recital was so awesome. Each dance was choreographed around a piece of art. How perfect! We loved it. She loved it. Definitely a highlight for Leah!

Samuel turned 5 in March. What an awesome, sunshine boy. How we love him. His love for trucks and cars continues, reinforced by a new love for transformers. He is also quite the chatterbox. That boy can talk the ear off anyone who will listen. One day he said to Leah, "I am always right." Ha! I hope he keeps that confidence forever. This year he attended a Christian preschool. It was an awesome school. Brad and I had to grit our teeth through his programs ("Jesus is my friend!") but we're so glad he had a great year. This year he played soccer and t-ball. He's excited to start Kindergarten in the Fall. It is still half day in Idaho, so I'm okay with it too.

Benjamin, our little baby, grew too fast. He is 19-months-old now! He has always been such a smiley, cuddly baby. But he's also the most stubborn of our children. My goodness. He refused solid foods for a really long time. Even now getting him to eat anything besides yogurt is a struggle. He'll usually give in for Brad, but not for me. He took his sweet time walking, waiting until he was 17 months. Now he's climbing on everything and begs to spend his days outside. He is without question the ruler of the house. Everyone dotes on him. I adore him, but sometimes he really does try my patience! "Just cute enough to stay alive!" as Mom would say...

Brad is enjoying his work. He's pretty much as busy as he wants to be. In March he was called to be the 1st Counselor in our bishopric. It's been good for him and for us. I'm so glad he has more time to give now.

April 9, Brad went to see Dr. Packer about some pain he'd been having. It turned out to be testicular cancer. What a shock. He had surgery April 12 to remove the tumor. That was a dark couple of weeks. I couldn't stop shaking. He's barely had a cold since I've known him so it was really hard to see him down and not feeling well. We're so grateful he caught it early. The cure rate is very high with careful monitoring. I was so worried about it, but Liz told me something that snapped me out of it: "Girl, if this is your brush with cancer, take it and be grateful!" I was so thankful for her candor.

I am doing well. I miss my dear friends in Massachusetts terribly. I don't know if I'll have that again. Getting to know people has been slow for me here. But people are kind. It will come. I love being nearer to family. That has been such a blessing this year.

Well, there it is. A little catch up/start over. I hope to be here more often from now on!