2.1.17 Whoa

I feel like this picture depicts. A little person in a big ocean. Trying to get so much growing done. I could go into the symbolism of the red turmoil and struggles of life, the calming brown of faith and friends, the strong bold blue of good moments but that would be too much.

 Sometimes life is more like this hat. Too big until you realize how to make adjustments.

We rolled the edge and voila it fit perfectly!

Sometimes life is just hard but you have to do things to get stronger and to progress. Bruce does not love alone tummy time. However, he is getting really strong and can work his way around in a circle. There is no rolling but moving himself nonetheless.

There are some fun surprises like a bag full of donuts on sticks left over from a party dad attended!

And sometimes there are rewards and sometimes there are not. Can I say I really hate the perfect attendance award.

Life is way too busy right now and although we got permission to pass on things like the pinewood derby we did not. The kids are growing in ways that aren't measurable at this moment. Yet it tugs on my competitive heart strings for the kids who aren't pictured with awards. Some of mine who really need some encouragement for their talents that may not be strong in the main academic area but really need a boost before they sink into total educational apathy.

I'm fighting with some health concerns. Thankfully I have been very healthy my whole life. It is bothersome to have to wade through the swamp of doctor phone tag and waiting and waiting for appointments then results then more appointments more results throwing money to and fro. While I acknowledge the skill of those same doctors surely this system could be more efficient. We would never only fix one side of your car and not the other and tell you to come back and we will charge you again to do that same thing.

Life gets pretty overwhelming when living fast. I'm trying to find a way and time to say WHOA!

Whoa, whoa. let's just chill. lets take a nap, let's breathe and read, and not go anywhere!!! This snow has robbed me of the time off from work. Time we usually are bored with. Instead we do school, homework, shovel and work to hurry through a very late dinner after 9pm rush to do our night routine and drop into bed only to rise early to catch the busses and hit another day.

AND THEN someone shows up at your door with pizza and apples because they are concerned. A friend texts that she is praying for you and another just checks to see how you are. Another friend listens and expresses their friendship. Life is fast, but the small moments filled with BIG people and the strength from their love, faith, and concern is the WHOA and the fuel to keep going.Thank you all for your love and thoughtfulness.

1.31.17 Afton's day

I am still mired in bookwork and life and have not been able to spare many minutes on things here at home. The lady in spots had a birthday. I am always at a loss as to what would be exciting, lasting, and fun for birthdays. This day I decided to not be motherly and to let her play as she will. Which meant time in the sink water- running it on her hands not splish splashing, and sledding indoors. 

In reverse order, that one above is finishing a run. There is a hole in that wall. I have never watched the sliding step by step I understand the hole now and talked them into a pillow to stop them.
 This is getting ready to start again.

All set final adjustments

Go!!

The hats make it more real! They are gifts from a lady we removed snow for.

Falling out of formation but still sliding...

And getting ready for bed after a long fun day of playing with sisters. Presents at our house aren't always bought often they are just gifts of love, I love activities that we can share. These flexible patient girls are champs at keeping busy and keeping life interesting.

1/28/17-12.16.16 Resident Hair Cutter

My resident hair cutter! 

She cut again (In december). This time Aftons cute curly hair. I was trying to relax to Reed when Millie said mom she's cutting Afton's hair. Alas the curls were on the floor and Livy's work was done. 

I think she also got a whack out of Reed's hair. He's sporting a short spot on the back of his head.

However after realizing she just wants to help I invited her to help me cut/shave the boys head for their monthly hair cuts. She loved wielding the clippers. It's not too hard to do and pretty foolproof, so maybe we tapped into a talent she has. I'm coming along in these mothering skills of mine. Instead of trying to stop the natural inclination figure out how to harness it and let it grow. She has been way less prone to snip since she got to do it for real. I think she even helped cut Greg's hair.

A sad endnote. Livy woke up with gum in her hair one morning. When she showed me I was nursing Bruce and couldn't take care of it. When she reminded me it was evening time and I was again nursing Bruce and couldn't take care of it. Next morning same deal. A little while later she came to me with the wad in hand attached to some long Livy hair. She had yanked that wad out of her head removing the hair to the roots!! OUCH! Alas the life in a big family. Poor kid. She had no tears and wasn't upset. She had not cut it out like, I asked her not to. So we are progressing in some way and regressing parent wise in others. Thank goodness for resilient kids. I've been trying to explain that concept to them that they have more resilience than older people because of their youthful energy. It's been challenging to explain.

1.20.17 Endurance

Just a few more pictures to remember the great snow of 2017! The first is outside our basement window which is almost flush with ground level. 

Snow at my sisters house. Her drywall was cracking and she determined the snow had to come off. I'm proud to say we shoveled a pathway through that mountain!! I felt like the workers tunneling through the sierra nevada's. Okay I know that's dramatic but this lady has never shoveled through something so daunting. Of course my farm kids have worked through such enormous odds and so once they were focused and I was there encouraging them along they pretty easily got it done!

A little more snow coverage those are normal size vehicles parked next to the mountains of snow!!

And my witty teenagers expressing their angst! Yes this is all in exclamation points.

I personally have done little shoveling and no higher elevation work. I do however watch and I know it is muscle straining, leg burning, hand numbing work. I know that it is cold and wet and sometimes fun and sometimes miserable. I also feel the length of each of these sessions as I'm trying to corral little kids who are bored and hungry and cold, and keep the big kids working so we can go home. I also feel the pride of accomplishing big tasks and helping others. We are learning about endurance. It is not easy to endure. To keep going and to keep drawing on energy reserves you are sure are spent. Yet it's important to find the grit that is deeper than your consciousness. The lessons that 'You can do hard things' and 'Working together is the way to get big hard things done.' Are vital to the rest of this mortal experience. It's hard to be the task master and mediary, it's no fun doing all the domestic stuff solo because the big helpers are wiped out and gone. This time period has also been extremely unifying and has brought a lot of character growth to us all. But we do cry inside and moan outside when we see big white puffy flakes of snow. Ugh! It's hard to stay thankful for the snow when you feel the weight of moving it around.

1.18.17 to grandmothers house we went

It's been hard not to feel stir crazy being house bound in the deep snows of late. Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to grandma's house. We needed to pick up some relief society stuff and were asked to work on snow on her roofs. So the big kids went and worked on this.

While the little kids and I enjoyed lunch and visiting the treasure trove of Grandmas's house. My grandma's house has a multitude of interesting things to look at. Collectibles and rare pieces of Americana. The girls had a great time looking, not so good at not touching but it's good to learn some manners.

Harold playing in the snow. Or taking a break.

Driving home looked about like this. Well maybe a bit more foggy. It was some of the scariest driving I've ever done. Iced over window and wipers. A lady in front of us actually stopped dead on the road and caught her breath and cleaned her windshield. I'm sure she was panicking I was pretty scared at that point too. I took advantage to clean my windshield for the third time and waited. We ended up gently passing her and continuing on our slow trek. When we got to Vale we chained up and cleaned another roof.

Addie loves to take pictures and marks her work with a selfie somewhere in the mix. She also loved having some dad time and stayed behind to help him at the shop. We headed to a neighbors to carry firewood through the deep snow so he could have heat, then saw another neighbor stuck on the road. I asked if she needed help, she said yes and we unloaded. It is awesome to be flanked on both sides by your powerful good kids. Not just little curious ducklings anymore but strong adult or semi-mature bodies able to accomplish much. So we pushed her into her driveway and continued home. We all cheer when we get parked! After some unloading and undressing of the multiple layers we are sporting these days. We ate dinner and the kids headed back out to clean off some more roofs a small shed and the pig's shelter. So no relaxing in a hot bath or in front a movie just more and more us against the elements.
Oh well. It takes all who are willing to make it through days like these. Harold said on the way home how he hoped he could have a big family of his own to do lots of work with. And at dinner he said you know when we are not killing each other we can sure get a lot done!! Yes!!!! It is sinking in. Best to you today.

1.18.17 Growing up

We didn't spend all our days in the snow. We had a choice experience to go to our friends baptism. We were honored to have the missionaries teach her in our home. We have known this friend since first grade and have watched her grow and come to this point through many hard trials and difficulties. It was good for Anna to share this experience with her. These are Anna's friends at the baptism.

President Hinckley said your friends are the most important indicator of your choices. I've been around and listened, watched, and talked with all these girls. They are good. They are fun and they are wanting to grow! 15 is the cusp of so much life!! I'm thankful Anna has and is a good friend.

Harold was demonstrating the size difference in he and Bruce, we couldn't even fit all of Harold's tall frame into this shot. Amazing! in just 14 years Harold has stretched so much. The human body is simply amazing. To be a mother and watch and feel and mold that body is pretty humbling and demanding. I am happy that Bruce is getting more meat on his bones even though he is getting really heavy to carry for long periods of time. His demands to eat all night long are wearing me out!

Typical preparation to go outside. It's cold. And extended exposure is brutal therefore cover all areas possible and work work work to get and stay warm! So good for her to join the crews outside. She doesn't love new experiences or being uncomfortable, and I really miss the policing creative entertainment inside when she's gone. But the camaraderie that has developed this last week is so good! I told Greg before they went back to school this challenge has again solidified our family. There is a nice peace in our home because we were all working together on hard things and relying on each other. Those are fundamental critical elements to team building. I love this big strong family of mine!

1.15.17 foot rubs

I've mentioned in the past about the nice foot rubbing that sometimes happens during family scripture study. Well the little girls have been taught well and this time they took on rubbing the all the feet in the family! Afton is a go getter and moved from one person to the next. Her rubbing Harold's tired feet was too precious I wasn't in a good spot to get a really good picture but you get the drift.

Harold is a great big brother. he is morphing from boy to young man. he's good and kind and strong and capable. these snow days have been a great catalyst for some mighty changes.