Is today a cause for celebration?...or not?

Today is the last day of school for the kids, I can't decide if I should celebrate or cry! For one thing, I am thrilled to not have any homework for 3 whole months. Those of you who think that homework is only for the child going to school...think again! I have successfully RE-graduated from 1st grade (for the 3rd time - me+Brayden+Emilie), and 5th grade (for the second time). I will be so happy to not be on their cases ALL the time about homework. Now the battle will change to "Talk nice to each other"..."Don't use that tone of voice with me"..."This is a warning"..."I'm setting the timer, and if it's not done, then"...(then what? - I don't usually know myself!), and finally, "PICK UP YOUR OWN MESSES!!!" Wow, I've become MY mom, and I USED to think SHE was the bad guy, and I was her little slave! Hind-sight is always 20/20. So...thank you mom for teaching me responsibility, and not taking the easy way out of doing everything yourself.

I do enjoy the summer months with my children - playing in the sprinklers, going swimming, making snow cones, going to the parks, camping, and of course 4-wheeling most weekends. So bring on the summer days and nights, but if anyone would like a child or two for a few days here and there - you know who to call!

Happy Summer everyone.

"Bishop Crawford" at YW Camp last year - even we big kids love the summer months

Families Can Be Together Forever

Life can be so wonderful and so sad. This week I had the opportunity to witness both. My cousin, Amanda Lyons, (41 years old), passed away of cancer, leaving behind her husband and 3 small children, and a lot of loved ones who feel such heartache. I attended her funeral in Sandy, UT, and witnessed a young husband say goodbye to his wife for the last time, then wrap his arms around his young children as they also tearfully looked upon their mom for the last time on earth. That image will forever be etched in my memory.

On the other side of that, (within a brief time of Amandas passing), my brother and his wife brought their sweet, healthy baby boy into this world, bringing so much joy to their family. You can't help but to hold him and know that he just recently left the arms of God.

I am so grateful for the knowledge that not only will we see our loved ones again after this life, but that we can be a family unit again. Amanda's children will once again have the opportunity to be held in their mom's arms, and a husband and wife can be reunited. I couldn't help but to think that I am still with my family on earth, and they with me. Life is too short to not take every opportunity to appreciate that and express it to each other, because someday we will be seperated for a brief time (hopefully later than sooner) - but the seperation won't last forever!

I have a family here on earth,

They are so good to me.

I want to share my life with them

through all eternity.

Families can be together forever,

through Heavenly Fathers plan.

I always want to be with my own family,

and the Lord has shown me how I can.

FOR THE KIDS!

Ira had a continuing education seminar in SLC this weekend, so I decided to make a trip out of it for the kids, ("for the kids" is the key part of that sentence). I knew it would be a bit crazy for this pregnant mom to be trying to keep up with 3 kids alone, walking around the zoo in 90 degree temperatures. I mean, doesn't an elephant look the same on a TV screen (especially the big screen), from an air conditioned house, with my feet up eating an icecream sunday as it would look in real life? I think so...but as I said...for the kids! I called our friend Irene in SLC, and asked her if we could hang out at her house when we were done at the zoo, so that I could prop up my elephant -sized ankles (direct result of the days events) for a couple more hours while we waited for Ira to be done. Now that I'm home with a good nights sleep behind me, I am glad that I brought the kids. They used words like "awesome, fun, cool" etc. Isn't that really why we parents do some of the crazy things we do?...FOR THE KIDS!

This picture made me laugh. After I looked at it enlarged on the computer, I noticed the sign behind Braydens head. It says, "Please don't feed us," and you can't even see the giraffe in the background, just the kids and that sign. We really got a good laugh from that one.
Jarin was so amazed to see all these animals in real life, that he had only seen in books, or on TV before. His favorite was the "tall, tall giraffe".
Brayden and Jarin watching the giraffe.

Gotta Luv The Weekends!

We had a busy and fun weekend. Brayden and Emilie have been working hard with practices every night for two weeks to be in the Smithfield all-childrens melodrama. The performances were Saturday, and again Monday. They sang and danced, and had a great time on stage. From their moms point of view, they looked SO cute (handsome) in their costumes. Brayden didn't like the idea of having to wear makeup (even stage makeup), and of course Emilie reveled in it!

Saturday morning we were in the Smithfield parade for our Chiropractic business. It is fun to get to ride along and see lots of friends along the way. Our kids think it's great that they suddenly become the most popular children in the school since they have candy to throw!

Sunday of course was Mothers Day (and it happened to be my birthday). Lucky Ira gets to kill two birds with one stone! Actually, he made it a special day for me, and tried to separate the two parties. He helped the kids make cards, and put candles in our breakfast muffins. The best part for me was that he cancelled as many of his church meetings as possible, and was able to spend more time with us. He did buy gifts, but the best gifts of all is the love he gives to me every day, and for being a wonderful father and provider.

My mom also made the day special by providing a mothers day dinner for all of us and our families. It was fun to visit with our extended family for the day.

I can't let Mothers day go by without making a tribute to my mom. She is a wonderful woman, and has sacrificed so much for us. As an adult, I now realize how much she went without to provide more for her children. She steps back and lets us be our own selves, and make our own decisions. She doesn't "interfere" with us or our families, but she is the first one there to offer a listening ear and support when we need it. She loves her grandkids like they are her own, and they all love her. I also thought a lot of my Grandma Wright who was with us last Mothers Day, and has left a void this year, with her passing away earlier this year. I missed her a lot.

Last, but not least - I AM IN THE SINGLE DIGITS ON MY PREGNANCY COUNTDOWN! NINE weeks to go - I know it still is forever away, but the single digits makes me feel so much closer - it's a psychological thing. :)

This picture is with my two other pregnant sisters. Unfortunatly for me, I am the biggest, but not due the soonest! Left to right is me (due in July), Kelli (due in September), and Yuri (due in 2 weeks).

I DID IT! (my deep thought for the month)

Brayden's piano recital

This may seem like a strange thing to write, but I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and just wanted to write my thoughts down about it, so here goes...

I have an interesting opportunity at this stage of our families lives to witness the different stages of growing up. There's Ira and I, who as adults, do what adults do best. We work hard, worry about our futures and our childrens futures, have a great big dream list for "someday", we laugh sometimes, and tire easily, with a sigh at the end of each day, and usually a comment that goes something like this, "there just isn't enough time in a day to get everything done", or "I feel so old!".

Then there's Brayden who is starting to discover the many opportunities there are available. He has been working so hard for a long time to earn money for a guitar, and he finally reached his goal. He is beginning to understand the value of hard work, and patiently saving gives great rewards. He realizes that if he wants something bad enough, he can achieve it. He is really insecure when it comes to participating in sports and his reading skills, and feels that he's not good enough for those things. He has picked up the terrible words, "It's impossible", and repeats them way too often. I fear he really believes that some things are impossible.

Emilie still feels like she can do about anything (as long as she wants to). She plays soccer, and doesn't worry or even notice if she is the best or the worst on the team (from a parents point of view, she really is pretty good). It doesn't matter to her if her team wins or loses - it's just all fun. However, when it comes to some things, mostly things she just doesn't WANT to do, then she gives the "I don't get it" or the "I don't know how" statement.

Then there's Jarin who doesn't have as many of lifes experiences under his belt yet. He doesn't think that there is anything in this big world of his that he can't do. He laughs and smiles and keeps the rest of us laughing too. Almost everything he says begins with, "I do it," and ends with "I DID IT!"

So this has had me thinking...when is it in life that we stop feeling like we can do absolutely anything, and we start feeling like things are "impossible", or that we're "too old"? I wish I could fast forward that stage of my childrens lives so that they never feel like they can't do whatever they set their hearts on. Ira was telling me that a 55 year old man that he knows just started figure skating lessons. He told me about someone else he knows who is parapalegic, and goes snow skiing. One day he had a skiing accident and came off the hill carrying his prosthetic leg and bleeding. When he saw all the people staring, he laughed and said, "Be careful on that hill!". Those two people managed to skip that part of growing up where they learned that their "too old", or that somethings "impossible". Where do we sign up for that knowledge?

Life really is a wonderful ride, when I see it through the eyes of our littlest one. Hopefully at the end of each day, instead of wearily thinking of all the tasks we didn't accomplish, we can all exclaim "I DID IT!".

YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!

Happy May ... yah, right! This is what Cache Valley woke up to AGAIN this morning. Growing up on a farm, I have tried to be very optimistic about all the snow, we really do need the water after all. However, when can optimism turn to realism and I can (without guilt) say "Enough is enough?"

Well, today is that day!

However, last weekend we had sun and warmth, and this weekend will be fabulous too - so as the hymn goes, "Count your many blessings." I am grateful that we are having more nice, warm days than cold. It won't be long until I'm posting a comment about how hot it is!