Scout's Honor

I can't tell you how many times I have gotten teary eyed during the past couple of months over this guy. My first baby has had all kinds of firsts. Seeing him run into the room in his baptismal clothing, then sewing his patches on his scout shirt, and dressing him in it are all such big boy events! Del and I have had lots of moments where we catch each other's eye, and know we are thinking the same thing.
Where is time going?

Wally has officially become a scout. He has earned his Bobcat, his Duty To God, and completed some of the other requirements. This week he earned his first badge. I unfortunately could not be there to see him get it because I work with the young women at church, and we had another activity outside the church building planned. We do all of our weeknight activities on Wednesday here, because we all live so far from our church building. So, things overlap all of the time.
But Del and all the kids were there to support him. And Del promised pictures, but when he took the camera out to snap them, it had a dead battery. He could not get his phone passed to someone else in time, and so, we don't have pictures. But a nice friend from the ward did send me one of Wally after he got the badge.  As soon as I figure out how to get it downloaded, without the grainy quality I am getting now, I will come back and add it to this post.
On the way home from the church that night Wally said to Del, "I guess this scouting thing isn't so bad!"
I am glad he is already finding a niche here. We sure love this eight year old boy.

On another note.
Walker felt so bad about me complaining I can't keep things clean, he stepped up and Swifered the driveway for me. He is such a nice boy. How could I not be happy.

Something to blog about... something to blog about...

I was a total failure this year on Easter when it comes to pictures of darling outfits. It did not happen. I stuck ties and white shirts on the boys, as usual, and Georgia wore an already-worn-once dress. As did I.
I left church early with a bad case of Vertigo. Not fun. I have been having these dizzy spells lately. One day Del walked into the kitchen just as I keeled over onto the floor. So the mystery diagnosis continues. But I am fine, promise.

I did however snap some heartwarming pictures after I had my kids tucked into bed that night.

After my kids get to sleep, I usually seriously contemplate removing the family, and burning the whole house down.
I have two or more hours of cleaning in front of me after the mini snoring has begun. No fail, even if I spent a good portion of my time during the day cleaning. Which I try hard to be somewhat diligent about.  I have to get dinner put away, and then there is laundry, and the constant need to wipe bathrooms down after a day full of use by my boys. But the most fun is the complete chaos that seems to creep into these four walls between the hours of 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. The house is clean when the kids get home, we do jobs and homework, run to whatever activity we have, or make dinner, and then... it takes on a life of it's own. I will also throw in here, that my wonderful husband has given me his blessing, and since becoming pregnant with Georgia I have had outside help in cleaning my home. I am now down to a once monthly deep clean by a company. And I could not be more grateful.

I took these pictures on a Sunday night. I will say that on weekends things get particularly hideous. We are never home on Saturdays anymore, and Sunday is a church, Sunday dinner, family time, whirlwind. Not to mention, Mom is trying to keep the Sabbath Day Holy, and not be a cleaning maniac the whole day. And with my husband leaving early on Sunday for church meetings, my kids have free reign while I shower and get ready for church myself. We come home to a MESS!
I will be honest there are some nights when I am just not feeling the never ending job of maid. I sit down and pretend I am not lounging in the remnants of the tornados that are my eight, six, three and 11/2 year olds.  I am in a constant state of bending over to pick something up, and you would never know it from the pictures below.

So I am looking for some motherly advice. From my own mother, of course, but also from those of you out there who feel my pain. Women with tidy children need not apply. What store do you buy tidy children from anyway?

I am seeking a balance in all of this. I am sure this is something I am facing because:
A. I chose to be a mother, and have four children in six years.
B. I HATE clutter, and if my house is unclean, my mental state is not good.
C. My husband does not notice clutter. Unless it is pretty obvious. ARGG!
D. My husband does try to help me. But he is indescribably busy running his company, and being everything else he is. I have taken on the role of homemaker, in it's entirety. So no picking on him.
E. I am supposed to learn patience.  Double Arggg! Who wants to learn patience?
F. Okay. F? I'll cut to the chase.

I am on this Earth to learn to be a better person, and sometimes that means not being selfish and letting my family enjoy their home environment without me breathing down their necks. "Pick that up. Put that back. Where do we put our shoes? Dishes in the sink! I am going to put these toys in time out! Aim for the water in the bowel. FLUSH!"
But it is a very high priority to me that our home be very clean, and that my children know how to get it to that point. I want to enjoy our family time, and stop calculating out the time it will take me to clean it all up after we are done.  I realize that requires me teaching them how to clean. I know there are days that I need to be better at letting them do it with imperfection, and not swoop in to finish it "correctly."
This is not all there is to it however. I love my children with every ounce of my being. But they are still very dependent. That is okay, they are little yet.
So what do you do? How do you keep the train running on a smooth, and clean track? How do you, or have you, inspired your children to shoulder the housework as they grew up? And what am I missing? Am I just a tired mom of four kidlings? I think I will jump if all of you out there never have this problem.
Help a mama out! Any kind advice is welcome.

Oh, and P.S. I won't open my door for you if the house looks like this, in most cases. So I don't know what is possessing me in the posting of them on my blog!

And this picture is making me hate all of my furniture.

The dress on the chair is my fault. I was lucky it hit a piece of furniture with how dizzy I was.

Last but not least, the basement. The place that takes the brunt of it. I will admit this was damage that began in the middle of the week, Right around the time I threw up my hands when it came to the basement that week. Now, I should post the "clean" shots to prove I am not a slob. But that is not the point of this post. Thoughts, advice, recipe's for some kind of coping serum?

Our First Dance Recital

Georgia had her very first dance recital last night. She was Oh, So excited! I was so glad to see it. She is not one to do anything, anyone else's way. So I was not sure she would want to put on a show.

It was a good experience for the boys in our family, big and little. They may as well learn now to sit nicely through dance recitals. And it was fun to see Georgia look so thrilled to be doing her thing.

Georgia's class was full of some shy little three year old girls. And when that curtain opened, they all looked like deer in the headlights. But they pulled it together and managed to move their feet and arms a bit. Not at the same time, or in the same motions, but they moved. That is what matters. As you can see in the picture, there was a lot of covering of the eyes, and sucking on fingers. At the end, they got a big roar of applause, and Georgia covered her ears in surprise, until the curtain closed.

It was so fun to watch our Girl on stage. And Will informed many times that next year, HE is going to go up and dance like the boys that preformed. I think that Georgia had a good experience, and actually might go back up with him! Way to go Girlie! You did good job!

It's Will's Birthday

And he is very excited!

I love this six year old boy, and all that he adds to our lives and home.
Will is a character. And he does not try to be. He is the one that I find strumming a guitar first thing in the morning singing " We gon' light it up, like it's dynamite!"

He is our sensitive boy. And he remembers everything!
"Hey Mom, remember that time we went to the mall, and you got us this toy?"
He holds up something that he probably got at the mall when he was only 20 months old.
Will is our slow and steady guy. He loves people, and he knows everything about every friend.
Will is Georgia's best friend, and Walker's favorite cuddle buddy. He tries to keep up with Wally, and actually does a pretty good job of it.
Del wrote "Will is a good boy." under the top bunk, so that when Will lays down at night, he can see it. So almost every night Will says to either me or Del, "Did you know? Will is a good boy?"

Mom and Dad love you Will! Happy Birthday! You are a good boy.

Wally's Baptism

Wally was baptized a member of our Church on Saturday. It was such a nice day. We had both sets of Grandparents in town for the baptism. We are so grateful, and felt very loved, to have them make the effort to come so far to be with us. Thanks so much Mom's and Dad's!

My Aunt Sandy and Uncle Scott also drove up, and many members of our ward were there to support Wally. And we had amazing weather to top it off!

It was a crazy, and emotional weekend. Lots going on in our personal, and business life, and it all combined to be overwhelming at times. But I must say that during times like those, it is nice to know there is always love from family, and strength in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was nice to sit and take in the Spirit as I listened to Del's Dad, and my Dad give talks on the Holy Ghost, and Baptism. Our family sang "I Am Trying To Be Like Jesus," and our kids did such a good job. Georgia did get stage fright, and huddle in a chair on the front row, but we are making strides. My Mom gave a nice prayer, and Del's Mom played the piano for us.

I can now always remember Del and our little Wally in the Baptismal font together as the prayer was said, and Wally was baptized by immersion. I was so glad we were there. I am so glad Wally decided he knows right from wrong, and he wanted to be baptized, and follow in the example of our Savior.

I was rushed, and wish I had given myself more time at the church before the baptism to get all set up, and take pictures. Instead we came away with nothing but poorly lit, unflattering photos of both us, and the food. But at least it tasted good. And some amazing women from our church stepped in and made sure everything was ready to go right after the baptism was over. It is hard to make it look to great with the pink Cultural Hall wall as a backdrop. Jane, the amazing cake lady, from church, made the CTR (Choose The Right) cookies. They were Yum!

Oh, well. You do what you can.

Del and Wally all dressed in white.

Our family. None of us looked good at the same time.

I am posting this so that you can see Georgia looking sweet. Ignore the rest of us.

Grandma and Grandpa

My parents.

Del's parents.

Aunt Sandy, Uncle Scott, my Mom, Del's Dad, and Walkie in the background.

A bad picture of the cookies.

I quickly snapped this picture and then hurried to get out of the way of around fifty hungry people!

Wally's book. Made by Del's mom. It is full of pictures of Wally's life, and the history of the family. Thank you, Thank you!

A couple of days later, we had another RSV scare with Walker, and I hit a cat on the way to pre-school, giving Georgia a conversation piece for her class. "My mom runned into a tat."
More like he ran into me! I am NOT an animal person, but I can't stand to see anything suffer. Thankfully  a "cat lady" stopped and took the poor thing off my hands! Whew! It has been busy. But sometimes that is just what makes it fun!

I Belong To The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

"Baptism is the first step in becoming a member of Jesus Christ's Church. We can be baptized when we are eight years old. At age eight, we are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is given to us by a priesthood holder after we are baptized.
The Holy Ghost prompts us to choose the right, comforts us, and helps us understnad eternal truths. The Holy Ghost is like a still, small voice that we feel in our minds and hearts."

- Excerpt from the April issue of "The Friend." A magazine geared for children put out by the Church monthly.

Accentuate The Positive

I am excited about a few things these days. Some are big, but most are just little things that bring some joy to the drab not quit Spring days we are having.
The first small, unimportant thing, is that I got a new lamp!  I know, I know... But I saw it months back in a local designer's shop, and I am now the proud owner.

On another home decor note. I was browsing around over at Hooked On Houses, and I saw that there is a possibility Reese Witherspoon and I have the same curtain panels! They were photographed when the home had another owner, but maybe she liked them enough to keep them???
Okay, maybe they are slightly different, and one day I WILL learn how to photograph interiors with excellent technique, so it is hard to tell, but they are very similar! So fun!

Hers

Mine (ignore my sloppy blinds.)

Oh... DAAAA-aaaddd!
My dear Dad is coming into town for a visit this coming weekend, and he said he would install a new kitchen faucet for me while he is here. Our old one is falling apart. And this past week it came!!
In about seven different pieces! Yay Dad!

I found a new lunch option. Lunch is a tough one for me. I don't want to go to a lot of work just a few hours before the dinner mess, and the Mac and Cheese the kids are chowing down is not doing it for me. So I modified a recipe I found on Pioneer Woman, and made a bow-tie salad with green onion, tomato, chicken, and feta cheese. I just used salt, pepper, olive oil, and some lemon juice for the dressing, let it all sit in the fridge for a while, and YUM!

Wally had to do a State project at school. He chose to do it on what state other than...??? Utah!
We completed it early so that I could have it out of my hair right before our Costa Rica trip.
Wally worked so hard, and did such a good job, he won a "Star Student Award" for the project.
Here he is with his styrofoam Utah, and his packet.

Wally was also the Star of the Week starting the day we returned from our trip. I sleepily put together a note and some pictures to send to school for his teacher to show the class. Walker, Georgia and I went to school to be his "lunch buddies" later that week.
What a wonderful picture of all of us this is. (Major sarcasm.)

Those are some of the small and simple things. I will post about the big, important things keeping us on our toes, a little later.