Fervent Seed

As a child I always knew I wanted to be a mommy. Why? I'm not sure. I guess that's what most little girls pretend when they have baby dolls and toy strollers.
For me being a mother of 4 I really do enjoy this calling. I know there's good, bad, and ugly days. But for the most part I love spending time with my kids.

Mason. He's growing into his own young man. Everyday he's learning a little more about himself which is helping him find HIS path. Some days he still needs me (which is nice) but most days I just stand back and watch him. And he just amazes me how mature and responsible he is.

Hailey. She's a carbon copy of me. She's still learning to find her own path. Which is fine. She's still very teachable. And she has such a strong spirit. Not strong-stubborn. But strong- determined. When learning something new I am amazed by how hard she'll keep try without giving up. That strength is something I really admire about her.

Ducati. She's a sweet little girl. Her laugh is infectious. I can't look at her without smiling. Her main goal in her 2 year old life is to play! So when I see her coloring on the walls, chairs, her legs, or my debit card I remind myself that she's found something new and exciting to color.

Lily- She. Is. Confident. Genius Smart. Inventive. Strong-Willed. Perfectionist.
She's a carbon copy of Mike. And she is the one I bump heads with the most. I know I'm arguing with a 3 year old. Not my finest moment. I admit that I forget that she's 3 when she starts reasoning with me. What 3 year old does that? :-)

I can't recall where I heard this or who said it.  I apologize in advance for the paraphrasing but it goes something along the lines....

A man was talking about how easy parenthood was for him and his wife. His children never swayed, rebelled, or misbehaved. They were perfect students. They never went against what they said. Finally someone sitting close to him who heard all this expressed to him that he feels sorry for him. Not pity but sorrow since he was given such an easy child. Because having a difficult child is a blessing from Heavenly Father. He's trusted us with one of his stronger spirits. And Heavenly Father knows that only the elite can handle his stronger ones. So to those parents who had a hard time parenting know that God was with you more. 

I remember the feeling of both guilt and happiness. Strange since it was at the same time.

Lily is such a fervent spirit. 

(definition:
having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling,enthusiasm: example a fervent admirer; a fervent plea. Or hot; burning; glowing) 

I was promised in my patriarchal blessing that I will raise up a fervent seed who will worship the Lord as I do. And I never understood what that meant until now.

Lily is my fervent seed.

She's the one who has an intensity of her spirit. She carries such strong emotions in her little body. I've joked with Mike that she reminds me of Tinker Bell. In the story Tinker Bell can only show 1 emotion at a time since it's so intense for her. I'm pretty sure anyone can testify of this if they have ever experienced a Lily tantrum.

While looking on Pinterest my friend pinned this and it literally made me cry. So I made one for myself.....

This Momma was completely humbled.

I might experience moments of difficulty. But that's OK. Each child is truly a blessing from God. Heavenly Father knows what's best for each of us. And he knew that not only did I need her but she needed me. So to help me know how to be the mother that fits HER needs I called the only person who might have been able to help me- God. After all she's his child before she's mine. He knows her the best. He gave her everything she would ever need already in her spirit. All I have to do is love her and teach her how to use it. My answer was treat her as I would Mike. (She is his mini-me) I needed to give her more patience, compassion, love, excitement, challenges, kindness, and forgiveness (even when she kicks a hole in the wall).

And it's completely changed my relationship with Lily. (Actually it's changed my relationship with all my children.)  And it's so wonderful to say that our relationship has started to mend and grow into what it was suppose to be. An equally cherished relationship.

Tumbling

Hailey has found her passion. For months she's wanted to get into an activity. But she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Dance but she doesn't like Ballet. Acting but she only wants to sing in a play and not talk. Gymnastics but it was alittle too far advance for  her. But at least I had something that she was interested in. 

So after calling around I found this local studio that offered tumbling classes for older girls. I know....she's only 6 and that's considered old. After 1 class she was hooked. She's mastered a cartwheel within the hour class. 

 Now she's cartwheeling around everywhere.

 Even her little sisters are following in her footsteps. They'll do summersaults while she does her cartwheeels.

 Hailey's plans are to learn all she can then move to a different class or studio since she'll know how to do all those special flips.

 I'm just happy she's found something that she enjoys.

Brigham City Temple

Personally I rarely see the fruits of my labors. But I try to follow these wise words...

"When the Lord commands, I do it"

And today was an entirely new experience. Our family made it a goal that we wanted to visit the Brigham City Temple open house this summer. So we set up a temple jar that we all contributed too. Any change we found went in it. Any money I had left over from groceries went inside. You get the point :)

So now to find a date and time for us to go. I think this was a bigger struggle than anything else. With Mike working crazy and sometime long hours he had to cancel on me. So I asked my mom to come along. She accepted but due to the same thing (long and crazy hours) she had to cancel as well. So I gave up on people coming along and I made the choice that I would take my kids NO MATTER WHAT!

So I planned, prepared, and stood still as all those worries started to come.
But I knew I was doing the right thing. Something like this only comes around once and a great while. The last time we went to an open house was when I was pregnant with Ducati. So 3 years ago. And this is something I wanted my kids to experience.

Now a week before my scheduled time Mike called me at lunch and told me that he only has to work 2-3 crazy shifts and that he might be able to come. After I hung up I received a prompting to check the reservation times again. In my head I knew they were either all full or only in the morning but I checked them anyways. And through Heavenly Hands there were evening times now available. It would be alittle trickier for me but worth it that we all would be able to go to the temple open house together.

So day of Brigham City Temple my to-do list was really long:
*clean Mike's suit   *wash his shirt  * bathe girls  * wash kids clothes (if needed)   *make a take along dinner (down side to Celiac- it's difficult to find places to eat that it's easier to just bring something)    *vacuum   *wash dishes  *leave extra food out for Pinkie

*make Ducati some flower barefoot sandals (since the girl never wears shoes...which I've accepted....I at least wanted her toes to look pretty when we're out)

 Pretty easy to make. Took about 30 minutes to make. Tutorial is here

*dye Cati's dress (she's outgrown her blue dress that I dyed a while ago. And this dress my mom purchased for her for Easter had a few stains on it so she hardly wanted to wear it. I did a quick dye job it's good to go.  

She loved it!

 *pick up Hailey and Mason from school early    *bring them home to shower and dress    *clean out van    *pack the van w/ everything   * KEEP KIDS CLEAN   *avoid naptime so the girls can nap in van     *pack Mike's clothes    *get dress myself :-)   *fill up gas tank  *be done by 3:15 so I can pick up Mike from work

I was exhausted by this point. :-)

After I picked up Mike from work we started on our drive to Brigham City. He just changed on the way. As we exited the freeway we could see the temple. This made everyone so excited!

  Now park, eat dinner, and take a shuttle bus to the temple

and when we arrived....these words come to my mind, "It'll all be worth it in the end". And everything today was completely worth it. I'm so happy things worked out that allowed all of us to be there together.

 The Brigham City Temple has so many peach blossoms around it. It was just absolutely beautiful.

 I didn't notice that I had a speck of dirt on my camera until I got home so ignore the black spot.

 The tour was amazing. Beautiful. Stunning. Peaceful. Lovely. Words can't even explain it. Things truly worked out wonderfully. The kids weren't cranky. They were full. Alittle tired. Very reverent. Just so well behaved. I was so happy.

After the tour we went for a cookie and a bottle of water. I know...Cati and I have Celiac- but I'll count this as our 1 cheat day a month.

 Afterwards we went walking the grounds which was crowded but then again not as much as I would have thought.

 I answered a few questions Hailey had about the Sealing Room. And this is where I seized the moment and explained to Mason and Hailey about being temple worthy, about making special promises with God, about finding someone who can bring them to the temple to be married. Hailey asked me what if she couldn't find someone who can take her to the temple. I smiled, not at her, but about this moment. I recently read on my friend's blog about her daughter's recent wedding. She told her this, which I in turn told Hailey, "It's your choice who you marry and your choice if you want to be married here". {para-phrasing what she said :-) }

So Hailey thought about it for a second and said she's going to make a promise with Heavenly Father that she'll come back, with a boy, and be married here.

 Mason did the same thing. He's saying his promise, "Lord I will come back here, worthy, to go on a mission. Then later to be  married to a girl." He's such a sweet young man.

 We had such an amazing evening. I completely forgot all the work I chose  to do in order to make this day special.

 Mike and I can't wait to come back here.....someday.....to visit after it's dedicated.

The drive home I asked everyone what was their favorite part
Mason: The Baptismal Font..especially the oxen
Hailey: The Baptismal Font
Lily: riding the bus
Ducati: all the flowers
Mike: the peach blossoms
Me: the peach blossoms as well and the sparkly chandeliers

 This was one amazing Family Home Evening :)

All by themselves

Today I must of spent over 6 hours telling Lily and Cati to clean their rooms. I know....6 hours! I was in a nagging sort of mood. I know I should have backed off and read one of my many books but.....I slipped! 

Anyways while I was at the temple with a friend Mike simply asked the girls to clean their room. Then he sat on his recliner, grabbed a soda, and watched some TV. Alittle while later Lily and Cati told Mike they were done. He gave it the seal of approval and let them come out to watch TV with him. 

When I got home the girls ran up to me, pulled my hand, and kept telling me, "Mommy, come look in my room. It's all clean."

hahaha.....my normal reaction when I'm recharged and renewed from temple visits is to grab my camera. And that is what I did.

 They are so proud of their clean room. Do you see it yet?

 All their clothes are piled into 1 drawer. I couldn't help but laugh. Mike reminded me that I should praise them for their hardwork NOT how they did the work. So I did!

Well Child Check Up

Ducati finally went to the doctors. After a while with no insurance (job changes) she went in to Mike's employer's employee and family ONLY clinic. I do have to say it's nice that only the families and employees have access to this clinic. There's no fumbling with insurance cards and info since it's all there from his work information AND optional same day appointments.

 And this company that Mike works for is really awesome that they give each household 1 free visit a year ( I think it's a year...don't quote me on that) So we got a mailer thing that says anyone could visit for free. So I picked the most expensive kiddo- Cati! She's behind on her vaccines so I made the appointment.

 She would not stop crying so finally I agreed to the 9am morning lollipop. *sigh
After that she was singing a different tune. Seriously- she kept on singing the entire time.

Her stats:
Age 2 years 8 months
26.8 lbs
36 inches long

What this means to me? She's 3lbs underweight and 1 inch too short. But she's right where she's suppose to me in my book. She's the littlest of all our kids which is funny since she's right where she's suppose to be with those CDC percentile charts. I guess this is what all other 2 years look like. :) And after some really awesome Disney Princess band-aids to cover her vaccine shots Lily, Cati, and I walked out of the clinic to see who?.....Mike! He was driving a forklift right when we walked up to our van. Such a blessing since it helped Cati calm down enough to tell Mike how brave she was. I guess this is the best benefit of this company only clinic- chances to run into Mike. :)

Back to School

Our kids have been really excited to start school up again. They missed their friends, teachers, 3 recesses a day, and all that time away from their little sisters. :)

The night before school Mike gave all the kids a father blessings. It helped not only calm their emotions but also gave us as parents alot of insight of how their year is going to play out. Things have been peaceful.....so far :)

The week before I took Mason and Hailey to school so Mason can meet his teacher beforehand. He tried to look up her photo in his yearbook from last year. But he didn't find her photo. So he was getting alittle nervous. But after going to the school, walking the halls, seeing his new classroom, his desk, and meeting both his teachers (class and resource) he felt so much better. He was ready to tackle the world...or at least 5th grade :) 

Hailey- she wanted to meet her teacher but she wasn't in the class when we walked by. She was nervous that her teacher didn't know how to help her since she has her hearing aid. So I just sent an email which turns out to be helpful. So far this school year has started off on the right step. 

Here's their back to school photos.... 

Labor is Right

History lesson on Labor day

 Labor day or also known as "the workingman's holiday", is an annual celebration of workers and their achievements. It was originated in the late 1800's during the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. 

Back when the average American worked 12 hours days and seven day weeks in order to make themselves a basic living. (sounds familiar- I work those hours)

Despite restrictions in some sates, children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills, factories, and mines  earning a fraction of their adult counerparts' wage. 

I couldn't image my Hailey working on anything besides trying to catch another grasshopper.

People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks. 

I guess this can even happen now a days with 4 kids. No breaks. Unclean facilities. I've seen what they hide under their beds. So thankfully this Labor Day it gave Mike and I a small break. We headed to Hogle Zoo for alittle while. 

They were so fascinated by ducks. And to think about all the $$ we put into toys and games. We need a duck :) But after 2 hours we left only seeing half the zoo. It was that packed.

But to honor Labor Day we headed home and.....WORKED!!!
 We teamed up and cleaned those unclean  sanitary facilities and let in some fresh air and all the while giving this mom a break from doing it all herself. So nothing magical this holiday. No BBQ's, No parades, No union strike, but it was nice to have the time to both work and play.