In the Photos

I've often sung my lament that I'm never in the photos with my kids. I would like more of those so I can see us together. But what I hope my children see when they look at my mounds of pictures, are the way I see them. I was present. Each capture was me taking notice. I saw them. I was there to treasure the moment.

Perhaps this particular photo holds no interest to the blog lurkers passing by, but I can't take my eyes off of it. My prized sons working together with sand, water, shovel, and bucket. My heart just skipped a beat.

P.S. Aren't you glad you didn't have to see another image of me in my swim suit - maybe next swim season - ha ha.

One or the Other

When I'm good about exercising, I'm not good at getting my house work done.

When I'm good at taking pictures, I never get the editing done.

When I'm good about cooking, I'm terrible at getting outside.

When I'm good at blogging, I'm a preoccupied mother.

When I'm good at mothering, we have a pretty messy house.

When I'm good at calling friends or family, I'm not a good listener to those around me.

When I'm good at saving money, I spend too much time thinking about things.

When I'm good at listening, the clutter piles up.

When I'm good at having playdates for the kids, I don't get the errands run.

When I'm good at having all the errands done, I long to have down time at home.

When I'm good at getting ready to be somewhere on time, somebody poops, spills, falls, or looses something so we can be late anyway :)

I haven't figured it out. Making a priority list means that one of you is in and the other is out.

Jacob's scan went well this morning. No hot spots or areas of concerns. I hope to sleep much more soundly tonight.

And since I haven't been good about posting pictures, I have to let you see my jayson at the beach on Saturday.

Touched by Cancer

I'm especially thinking about cancer today because Jacob is at the hospital right now getting a bone scan. This particular scan wasn't ordered with his other 6 month scans earlier this month. It makes me anxious to find out what they are able to see and what they might be worried about.

*****

I review all my kids' homework in the their Friday Folders. Jacob got 100% on his worksheet on periods, question marks, and exclamation points. At the bottom of the page he had to write his own sentences.

9. A sentence that tells something: I went on an airplane.

10. A sentence that asks a question: What is cancer?

11. A sentence that shows strong feeling: I like playing with LEGOS!

12. A sentence using an abbreviation or initial: I go to the Dr.

Best Hand Wash Car Wash

The kids always look forward to the night when Daddy will wash the cars. I do to!!!!

About James

Last year I shared Jacob's ME POSTER. James did one this year.

I have a great name. It is James Jonathan Stock. Today I feel awesome. Something special about me is I'm nice. What bugs me most about school is I get bored easily. I'd rather play video games than school. I like teachers that are nice and fun. My favorite place to be is home or Utah. Something that bothers me is when by brother bothers me. At our house we have free time between 7-8 p.m. When I'm alone I like to think about stuff. The most important person in the world is my family. I wish I could be cooler. Sometimes I like to make food. I think school should be a place were we have fun and a little learning. I feel nervous when I have to give a presentation. Better than anything, I like my parents. I really get angry when my brother startles me. I feel proud when I get awards. I wish people wouldn't bother me. This year I hope I can be more nice. One thing I'd like to know about the teacher is how he gets his work done. One think I'd like the teacher to know about me is that I'm a bit shy.

What's Really Important

I'm overwhelmed with my to-do list right now. There are a billion little things that are nagging at me. Are each of them life changing? no. Is it the end of the world if it takes me a few more days to get to them? probably not. Will I lose sleep over it? a high-strung girl like me will definitely lose sleep.

I think I'm also sad because my grandma is ill. She's always been well, vibrant, endearing, and witty. Each of you who know her have been her favorite. She has always been an example to me of helping people feel included and important. I don't think anyone is ever ready to let someone go. I know she has a whole fan club waiting for her on the other side. I've just been feeling sad about the day she's not with us anymore. I don't know when that day is, but I dread it already. She has lived a full and remarkable life. Grandma was always so invincible and I'm finally admitting that after 85+ years, though a superhero in spirit, the body is quite fragile.

**************

Have you heard the music of Paul Cardall? Did you know that I went to grade school with him? Did you know that he's waiting for a heart transplant so he can live long enough to watch his little girl grow up? I was so happy to find his blog because he doesn't have time for stuff that doesn't matter much. He & his family have really been forced to focus on what matters most. I've had such wake up calls in my life. Why is it so easy to forget?

Check out his blog HERE.

Don't forget to pray

My kids have a natural gift for pointing out the things I do wrong - thanks guys, I'll work on that :) Today my Baby Jay showed me that I've taught him something right.

We sat at the table for delightful cuisine of nectarine slices, saltine cracker and cheese, with turkey non-rolled roll-ups. Jayson kept holding his hands together and said, "de de" (which apparently is a universal toddler word that means whatever he is trying to say but can't remember the grown-up version of the word). He was so excited when we understood and offered a blessing on the food.

Thank you Jayson. Don't forget to pray.

Correction

Last year I set up aliases for my gmail account. I let my boys use them. My friend has twin boys that were going to be Jacob's pen pals. They wrote back and forth a few times. But the email accounts get used the most with messages going back and forth between my sons. Sometimes they will write to me. I try to send them little love notes now and again.

I pasted a copy of THIS letter to Jacob in his e-mail so he could read it. I just got a message back from him that said, "my name is not Jake."

I thought I had special parental permission to call him that nickname that I've used since he was born. Apparently not.

10 on Wednesday

1- I'll have you know that I WAS in bed by 11 p.m. Sunday evening. There was no sleeping for at least an hour, but I kept the lamp off so there was no reading either. As I lied there I noticed the cramps in my calves and thighs. I wondered about the blogs that I hadn't read yet. I thought about doing more stretches for my tight body. But my stroke of genius was this:

2- I decided to HEART ATTACK Jessica's door. She's always competing with Jayson for Dad's attention. She isn't going to quit the role of Daddy's Little Girl especially since Jayson is starting to favor Dad too. She often feels left out with the older brothers and says, "they don't like me." Apparently she saw me corner Jacob to give him a hug (because you have to steal them from him, he doesn't usually offer hand outs). She went and pouted on the stairs. I dare say there were misty eyes. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "You don't love me." Point is, Jessica needs a boost in her self esteem and reassurance that we adore her. I also put a little heart with a love note in he lunch box. When she got home from school, she immediately saw this and grinned from ear to ear.

3- I confess I did NOT make it in bed by 11 p.m. on Monday. I blame the washing machine, it's not pulling it's weight around here. It is only 9 years old and it's paired with an ancient dryer that keeps on working perfectly. The washing machine had a faulty switch - the one that tells the machine that the lid is shut and it's okay to spin. When the switch doesn't work, the washing machine just stays full of water and stops halfway through the cycle. It's been replaced once. It's broken again and I've been managing the problem with duct tape for several months now. I currently have the button taped down so the machine ALWAYS thinks the lid is closed. So far so good with not having my loads splash and spin all over the room. BUT, every 6-7 loads I have to re-tape it. When I went to switch loads, I had to re-tape and then wait for the spin cycle before I could switch them to the dryer. Laundry delay.

4- I DID get to bed on Tuesday before 11 p.m. which is why this is a 10 on Wednesday list.

5- I've been doing my exercises which have made me all tired and achy. Being tired and achy make me want comfort foods, which has been making the exercise null and void.

6- I DO like showering at the gym. They are pretty clean. Good water pressure. Lots of warm water. No toddler outside the door putting handsoap in his hair - PRICELESS.

7- Anna is home from college. I didn't get 5 minutes into our conversation before I re-hired her to come back and help me with house keeping. It's heavenly!!!!

8- I forgot that we brought Jacob's camera to Wild Rivers Water Park, so you get to see these fabulous images of me with my kids - too bad I'm in a swim suit. Make a Wish has an annual summer event where they invite all the wish families of that year. They provided tickets and a BBQ lunch. Very Cool!

9- A couple of the salsa jars did not seal, so we got to sample some early. Pretty tasty. Jon read that salsa is best after it sits on the shelf for several weeks. All the flavors with mesh together. Guess we'll have to find out.

10- Betcha you've been missing this little guy in action. So here are some snaps of the cutest little red at our house. Here's just snackin' on a pear and sippin' his milk (which he will ONLY drink in a bottle).

I'm Going to Turn into a Pumpkin

This is me. Getting off the computer RIGHT NOW. I made a promise that I'd be IN bed every night by 11 p.m. I may not sleep right away, but I'm going. Right Now. I promised.