At Our House

I love books. I really really want my kids to love books. If Jansen or Natalie asks me to read to them, there is some sort of mothering mechanism triggered inside me and I can't say no. (I CAN say no to playing with their toys with them, pretending to be a doggy, and other really undesirable requests.) I try to read with them before bed each night. Recently, to make it more special, we decided to do our bedtime reading in my bed. Blankets, pillows, cuddles, and books. I hope they have memories of this when they are older.

Natalie particularly looks forward to it each night.

I have been fighting a battle for years now. The battle is this: what should the rules be concerning the family room couch? Can they jump on it? Can they take the cushions off? Can they build forts? Well, I'm done fighting, and for the most part, yes, they can. If you were to ask me the number one thing my kids play with, it would be the couch and its cushions. I would be doing myself a disservice to take that away from them. :) 

The other night Nate was wrestling and running with the kids. One of those roughhousing nights when you just wait for the tears.They came. Jansen hit his head on our bed and got a cut on his eyebrow. It really wasn't a bad one, but he got a little black eye, and we iced it and put a bandaid on it.

Intern of the Year

On Saturday night we attended the FMR (Family Medicine Residency) banquet. We ate dinner, a few awards were given, and we watched some humorous videos that the interns and 2nd years had created basically making fun of each other. One of the 2nd year residents was supposed to be Nate in the video they made. She was a gameshow host and kept saying things like, "Now this is all for charity remember." Or if someone gave a wrong answer she would say, "Oh, I think I will still give you all half points for those great answers." Basically she was mocking what a nice guy he is...a great thing to be made fun of for I think! :)

As for the awards that were given...Nate received Intern of the Year. I was really proud of him. All of the interns are really great people and doctors, and he feels any one of them could have been given the award. What stands out to me is that he was chosen for his competence, leadership, and mentorship...which he excelled at, all while caring for his wife and 3 kids and serving with all his heart in his church calling. We have been really blessed this past year. And stretched and tried. I firmly believe that things always work out for your good when God and family come first. Somehow you find the time, energy, and abilities you didn't know you had.

Two's Company

I keep hearing people say how busy their summers are. Or how excited they are to do nothing all day. I cannot relate to either of these statements. So far summer feels like a lot of reeeeeally long days, and we don't have any big summer trips planned. I have always been a clock watcher. Ready to move on to the next activity. I remember babysitting and watching the minutes tick by till I would be done. Sitting in class at school...every job I've worked...time seems to crawl for me. And as a stay at home mom, I think I have reached my pinnacle of living through some slow days. I have PLENTY to keep me busy and happy at home, but 90% of it cannot really be done with children.

I am working on changing, because I think I can and I know I need to. I am really trying to live in the moment and to find ways to stay busy with the kids. I can feel myself making some strides and it feels great. 

SO. I was more than thrilled to have my mom and sister come and add some excitement to our days. We went down and watched the Bellagio fountain show, had gelato, and saw the world's largest chocolate fountain one day.

Someday this hair will be tamed. 

On another day we visited the Natural History Museum. I was pleasantly surprised by it, and decided to buy a membership so that we can come back a lot this summer.

One of my favorite nights was getting Chinese and watching True Grit.

The last night of their visit, my mom, Lexi, and I went to a shopping district and had dinner at Brio. Since we were willing to sit outside we were seated immediately and I loved sitting back and chatting with them. The dinner/shopping combo has got to be my favorite way to spend time! 

This didn't happen on the trip, but my sister sent me these texts the other day:
ew i'm laying out in mom's backyard, a bird flew down, landed on my head, and got stuck in my hair. traumatized.
And then a few minutes later:
ew ew ew Oh my gosh, not even kidding it just landed on me again! never going outside again.
I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time.

I had to include this shot of Emmy's hair blowing wild. Las Vegas is actually a very windy place. I had no idea before I moved here. 

Text

Nate gets the weekends off during this rotation, but that means he's very busy the rest of the week. He went to work early Monday morning on base, came home and changed around 6 pm, and then went to Sunrise Hospital for a 24 hr shift. He got home around 7:45 pm Tuesday night, changed, and then went straight to some church related things he had scheduled that night. He got home around 10:30. Wednesday would be another 13 hour day and today he works another 24 hr shift. When I woke up Wednesday morning I had noticed the dishwasher was emptied, counters clean, garbage taken out, etc. I'm not sure how he had the time or energy, so I texted him and thanked him for everything he had done. He texted this back to me:

"I just wanted you to know I'm here for you and try to help you out a little, that I'm not just helping the young men."


It meant a lot to me. He is a constant example, and he creates a desire in me to be a better mom, wife, friend, etc. 

Annie's {far too short} Visit

It's awful when you don't know the next time you'll see a wonderful friend. After my girls' trip to Ohio, I was thinking it would be quite awhile before I would get to see Annie again. Thankfully it was just a few months later. I zoomed up to St. George and picked her and the girls up and got to spend the evening chatting (with Kiki too!) and watching our kids pick up right where they left off. All you need for a fabulous night is a comfortable couch and great company.

When we left Ohio these two were a little too young to really "play" together. They've grown a lot, and they had a great time pretending and playing. A big thank you to Natalie for always showing her true self.

Cuteness x 4 right here:

We drove them to the airport for an early flight out of here and once again are left wondering exactly when we can meet up again. We'll make it happen. Sooner than later. Mark my words.

Curious Hands and Imaginative Minds

I've got the years 2007 and 2008 of my blog turned into books and am working on 2009. As I've been putting these together and rereading my posts, it has helped me realize what types of entries are most memorable and fun to look back on. I discovered that I love the little details. You forget them so quickly, but just a few details can bring back floods of other memories. I think I want to change the way I blog just a little...perhaps make it more journal-like. As if no one else is ever going to read it but me. (Well, you know, something like that). We'll see. 

Emmy sure hogs the spotlight on here a lot lately. But she's changing so fast! She has such curious hands. She loves to grab my earrings and other jewelry. If I am wearing studs, she easily rips them out. Thankfully it's more annoying than painful. And I guess she loves the texture of blackberries because she squishes them in her fist before putting them in her mouth. She doesn't really do that with other food. She used to be an amazing eater, but she seems to have really slowed down. If I need a spare moment I will dump a bunch of Sonic ice on her high chair tray and let her play and eat till it all melts or she's freezing.

I'm so grateful Emmy loves Nate. She won't really go to anyone besides him without protesting loudly. He is so good about lugging her around while he changes after work, cleans up the backyard, and YES, shaves. The other day the deacons had a service project and I really wanted him to stay home. We came to the deal that he would take Emmy. Later one of the other leaders told me I should have seen Nate shoveling rock with one hand while he held Emmy in the other. That guy. I love him.

Oh Natalie. I can't wait to see where her imagination takes her in life. This bird is a home decor piece, but Natalie likes to play with it every once in awhile. She took some little half chewed pieces of carrot and placed them by the bird because they are her babies. You can see the band-aid on her finger...she is obsessed with them lately. She loves to put them anywhere and everywhere on her body and is convinced she needs one anytime she gets hurt. I think I'll do what a friend of mine does and give her some packs for her birthday!

Finishing Up Kindergarten

Jansen finished up school last Thursday. He had a large class, I think about 36 kids. The morning and afternoon classes combined and sang a few songs for a "kindergarten promotion." I wrestled with Emmy in the audience, but she did pretty well and I got to see the program.

Jansen had been practicing and practicing the songs they sang. One day in church he wrote out all the words to one of them:

All the kids and parents crammed into the classroom afterwards to have some goodies. 

Jansen and his teacher Ms. Curth. I wish I could have gotten to know her better and been able to help out in the classroom, but I really liked her and Jansen did too.

A quick Jansen moment to share...as we got out of the car on Sunday and started walking into church he exclaimed, "It smells like RUBBER PIGS!" The church is near a stinky pig farm, but I have no idea why he added the rubber in there.

A Girl After My Own Heart

Although I prefer them full. :)

Field Day

Field Day. The most anticipated day of the school year...back when I was in elementary anyway. Here are some pictures of Jansen having a grand time. Thank you for the pictures Kati!

An Old Video

After posting that video of Emmy, I remembered this funny video of Jansen at that age. I think it is hilarious. He had never, ever seen someone do the chicken dance nor had we had ever taught him any actions. For some reason that chicken brought out his best moves. We would turn it on, and he would just start doing his thing.

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