I have a piano....

....and now my life can truly begin. Again.


It's time for me to reconnect with the part of me that has been set aside for much too long. It's the musical side of me that yearns to be nourished and has gone parched for longer than I care to admit.

Kids have done this to me. I have sacrificed a part of myself that never should have been sacrificed and now I'm reclaiming it. Words cannot express how excited I am!

Dallin is great; he turned eight!

Dallin turned eight on Thursday. Oh my. I can't stop the time, no matter how hard I try.

We celebrated with cupcakes in his classroom with his friends.

A few of his friends came to the house to celebrate. A house full of boys is madness, let me tell you. It was a lot of jumping, shouting, running, shouting, gun-shooting, light-saber fighting, and did I mention shouting? But, they all had fun and that's what matters, right? Mom's sanity doesn't really count on birthdays.

We had sock wars, light-saber battles, and then finally a movie to quiet them down.


The whole family had fun, minus Karina who got clobbered in the middle of the sock war. But, she had her sweet revenge and was satisfied in the end.



It was a fun day for my boy. I love him so much and am very proud of the young man he's becoming.

Who can garden in such nonsense?

The weather hasn't been cooperating with gardening this year. It keeps raining and cooling down and being crazy. However, I did take advantage of a nice, dry, warm stretch of weather we had last week and got busy planting.

I planted and hung my hanging baskets. I am SO excited about them. It makes me happy to see them every day when I pull into the driveway. We also have a new basket under the window of our garden shed. It's going to be gorgeous when the plants fill in.

I also got my basil planted and ready to grow for the summer. I am SO excited about that too. I love, love, love fresh basil!

I was also able to harvest our first patch of radishes, which were quite tasty. The kids loved pulling them up (and I did too!). It's raining and cold again this week, so I'll continue to harvest my lettuce and spinach and wait for the other veggies to catch up. Until then...

My iron stomach

I have an iron stomach.

Hardly anything makes me queasy or nauseous.

I never get car sick, airplane sick, boat sick, roller coaster sick.

Never.

Until yesterday.

I was rinsing some freshly cut lettuce and spinach from my garden, and I was so proud of myself that I would soon be eating the fruits of my labor. I was already eating a nice big salad in my mind.

Then I saw this....


My iron stomach turned to mush.

Slugs.

They must be my superpower weakness.

Mother's Day Poems

It's fun as the kids get older and are able to give creative gifts. Here are two poems I received for Mother's Day. Aren't I lucky?

Mariah's poem:

S illy
H onest
A lways cool
N ice in every way
N ot mean
O rganized
N ot dumb, but smart


Dallin's poem:

Wonderful Mom
Mom
Silly, friendly,
Delighting, finding, exsiding,
She is always cheerful,
Mommy

Camping and Fine Dining

On Friday, Jason took the boys (and one little girl) to a Father/Son Campout hosted by our church. This annual event is greatly anticipated in our family and this year was no exception. Jason got the Jeep out of storage, loaded it up with kids and gear, and took off into the woods.

And then I enjoyed the peace and quiet. Ahhhhh.

This is what the kids looked like before leaving their loving mother's presence.


And this is what they looked like when they returned. Their faces were dirty. They were tired and sugared up. Kyle's wearing his sister's jeans and Grant's wearing Kyle's pants. Hey, I was just glad they were still wearing their own underwear!



Mariah and I had an evening out planned as well. We got our hair cut, went out to a fancy italian dinner in Portland, and then attended the James Taylor & Carole King concert. What fun!





It's good to spend individual time with the kids. They had lots of fun and it was a nice change of pace for all of us.

An Opportunity to Serve

I love opportunities to give to others, don't you? It is so rewarding, so gratifying, and so humbling.

Late last year I was introduced by a friend of mine to a lovely young family who was expecting their fifth baby. All babies are special, but this baby was especially unique. He would be born with a congenital heart defect. I began following their story through their family blog and was impressed by their strength, their faith, and their love for life and the challenges it would bring.

Little baby Kimble was born in November 2009. Doctors, nurses, family members, friends, all rallyed together to help Kimble get a strong start to life and so far they have been successful. He is growing, happy, and is the chunkiest little brown-eyed baby you've ever seen.

During his time in the Denver Children's Hospital, Kimble's family was richly blessed by the love and support they received there. Now, Kimble's mother has joined forces with two other women and their babies to give back to the hospital. They have organized a project called Colorado Cuddles From the Heart and are asking for donations of blankets to supply to the Children's Hospital.

When I heard about this, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm so excited to help in this endeavor. In fact, I'll be organizing the young girls in my church to help with the project.

If you're interested in joining me, check out the Colorado Cuddles from the Heart website: http://mygratefulheart.wordpress.com. You can read more about the babies and their mothers who are sponsoring the project. It also gives information on where to send donations.

This is a wonderful opportunity to help families who need a bit of extra love and support during a difficult time. Join me, it'll make your day!