Daily Life January

Milayla loves playing pretend and loves pretending to be a mommy, builds things out of blocks like churches, picks up a book to 'read' whenever she can and has begun learning the art of reading and loves it. She colored a picture one day and when she noticed that there was one more person in the picture than we have in our family she decided that it could be Aunt Keely. Aunt Keely was honored.

Atticus only wants to read, do math, and play in the snow. Anything outside of that realm is a tough sell these days but he comes around to it all pretty quickly - thankfully.

Phineas melts hearts in his sleep. The picture of him sleeping in his striped sleeper, toes exposed, and sweet little profile of his face makes my chest feel like it might burst. He loves to jump. No Jolly Jumper handy? No Problem. Mine and Jason's arms seem to fill the void. He gives awesome kisses and pulls my hair with herculean grip.

Homeschool is coming along well. Anyone being sick (a usual part of winter) definitely reminds me the importance of flexibility. There is a picture of Milayla looking at our German word book and Atticus practicing his skip counting with a hundreds chart. It looks like it was a more productive day than it was. I'm going for the overall theme of teaching them to love learning and trying to learn something difficult. So far so good. But, let's face it, I've barely begun. I've started picking out curriculum for next year. 

Meanwhile, we have loved having lots of snow days. I don't think Phin cares for all the snow suit layers, but he has enjoyed the baby snow angels we help him make in the fresh snow. Atticus and Milayla like to pretend they are on a winter expedition over the mountains of cleared snow. When we get fresh snow the kids like to get pulled down the sidewalks in the sled. They all fit. Miraculously. And I get my workout in pulling it. And they get a riot out of asking if we can go faster. 

And though I am getting my pseudo love for winter put to the test as we enter February and unfavorable temperatures, I have to say that Heavenly Father gave me quite the gift when I was walking home from the metro one night; big fluffy snow falling on freshly cleared roads that made it feel all cozy and romantic like the first big snowfall of the season. It was beautiful. And I was reminded of all the beautiful little moments that happen during winter. And I feel like I really am learning to enjoy this winter. I think it helps that the kids are so enthusiastic about it. 

Breakfast of Champions

Atticus has been a reading fanatic lately and will read through all the Friend magazines that we have when he has some quiet time. Well, one of those great magazines had an article about someone helping with breakfast and so Atticus set to work the next day telling Milayla and I that we could go get ready and play with Phineas while he (Atticus) made breakfast. 

First, he made a menu. We had the choice of granola or peanut butter sandwiches. We picked the former. Then he made place mats with our names on them (so we knew where we were sitting). He used chairs to get everything he needed from the cupboards and made us up some bowls of granola. He even measured out the granola and the milk so that he could get it just right. No one wants their granola swimming in milk after all. 

The granola that we have isn't one that I can eat so he made sure to get the right cereal in my bowl. He really just did awesome. What I loved most was how happy he was to do it. Service is awesome.

Since then he has made breakfast several more times (branching out to making breakfast parfait after I wrote out a recipe for him and taught Milayla and him how to make it) and is after me to get some more recipes for him to learn. He is aching for a good cooking class so that he can surprise us some more. In the meantime both he and Milayla have really amped up their helping in the kitchen. In fact they both made their own breakfast parfaits the day after they learned how to make them while I was nursing Phineas in the morning. 

Last week they helped out with nearly every dinner. I'm really loving the extra hands in the kitchen. Not to mention, it's a nice feeling when we all sit down for dinner and know we all had a hand in helping make it. And I am kind of in love with the fact that Jason is a good help in the kitchen too. Yep, feeling a little spoiled lately. Love those eager, helpful kids!

Thankful for Health

   The kids had swim class tonight. All day long I heard all about their excitement for swim class. I rather enjoyed knowing that they were enjoying it so much (especially since they have only had one class so far). Milayla was particularly excited since I would be the one accompanying her in the pool this week. So when we made record time getting everyone fed, dressed, into the vehicle and buckled up we were all pretty confident we would get there on time, and even into swimsuits on time. But then our car failed to start. Our vehicle has a knack for failing to start at some pretty awkward moments. I'm just grateful that we have not been stuck in the middle of no where without it starting - middle of winter is not the time for that!

   So we said a prayer, offered in the wonderfully sweet words that only a 5 year old can render I am sure, and Jason determined to get the car working. I looked at the time, and determined that we were getting those kids to swim class one way or another and I did not think the car was going to be that way (at least not today). So we added extra winter layers to the kids, it was -26c after all, squished them into the sled and started trekking down the slippery sidewalks. And by trekking I really mean running. We had to make it there in short order after all.

   Jason and I traded off roles between pulling the sled, carrying backpacks and carrying Milayla (because she changed her mind about where she wanted to be in it all), all while running. I've got to say, working up a sweat while outside when it is this cold feels like a pretty big accomplishment. I actually started to feel a little bit of a desire to become one of those crazy winter runners who put spikes on the bottom of their runners just so they don't wipe out (I'm a mild temperature runner...at least until now :) ). I can't vouch that I will follow through on that desire, but I digress.

   At one point, while I was running behind the sled to ensure no child fell out, or decided to start dragging their foot to create some unneeded friction, I looked at those 3 little winter adorned heads and couldn't help but smile. They were loving it (except Phineas was not too keen on any of the times that we stopped). They were giggling wildly for most of the journey. Their eyes lit up when they realized that we were taking the sled and they were showing their happiness again and again. I wanted to stop and take a picture to remember that scene, but there was little point in stopping seeing that I didn't even have my phone with me to take a picture and I was really trying to get the kids there on time. So I tried to do what Atticus says he does and take a picture with my eyes. It was an awesome moment and I felt so blessed to have it (even if it meant our car not working...again). And I was filled with some pretty immense gratitude that we have the health to do this with our kids. Bodies are incredible and I am so thankful that ours are in working order. It was a fun little adventure and it was even better to do it all together.

   So even though the kids were a tad tired of the sled by the time we made it, I am grateful we did it. I am also grateful that Jason and I finally managed to get ourselves some winter coats so that we were all properly dressed for the weather. It was a good enough experience that Jason and I remarked that we should plan on doing it another time (allowing a bit more time to get there). Though, depending what happens with that vehicle of ours, we may be doing that regardless! I'm also pretty thankful that we are all learning to love and embrace winter this year - it makes such a difference. Though, having written all this, I still feel like my words are terribly inadequate for describing the experience. I sure hope that picture with my eyes takes hold for a while!

 

A New Year and a New Word for that year

Oh man. This post has been writing in my head over and over again. We sat down with the kids this last week for family home evening and helped them set some goals for this coming year. I love their 'can do' attitudes especially when we approach them with stuff that they know is going to be tough but they also know they can do it. But I digress, because that is a post unto it's self. This is a post about my word for 2015. Though, I will get to our family goals and individual goals soon.

This is the quote that is solidly in my heart and mind as I welcome 2015. It is from Jeffrey R Holland:

"The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives"

That quote seems to ring so true to us. I plan on taking all our experiences from Montreal thus far, taking the lessons, bringing the best (like the most happy baby who is sleeping soundly against my chest right now), and most importantly, leaving the ashes.

Montreal has been a roller coaster ride of emotions and experiences. We have had hot water tanks spill out into our basement, fires a light in our oven, thousands of dollars stollen from us, attempted identity fraud, car accidents (minor - thank goodness), ambulance ride, medical frustrations, trust heavily misplaced in those whom we thought were trustworthy, judgement and ridicule, stereotypes, tax errors by our accountant (not in our favor) from several years previous, a serious lack of friendship, and countless experiences of fruitless efforts to move forward, make friends, get settled and get clarity.

There were some very painful days where our family felt isolated and alone. There came a point in my pregnancy where we had to make the decision to leave a lot of things off our plate so that I could keep the stress levels low and focus on spending quality time with the kids. Despite some negative feedback and criticism, it was the right choice. It was that choice that allowed me to not only see the beautiful golden threads woven among every day, but to help them truly shine.

It's those beautiful golden threads that I will take with me into this new year. First and foremost, my Saviour. Through a serious lack of time to read the parenting books that I had hoped to read last year, I discovered a deeper dependence and appreciation for the teachings of my Saviour, and how they apply to parenthood. Not to mention, the lifeline of prayer and priesthood blessings. Who better to seek parenting advice from than Heavenly Father? Scriptures, prayer, and the guidance of the Spirit are the best parenting tools that everyone can have access to.

Which brings me to another golden thread - my family. Words truly cannot describe how much my heart swells when I am with or doing something for my little family. They amaze me. They take all the love that I give them and they build on it and expand it. I feel so honored to be a wife and a mother in this family. We're all here, we're all healthy, and we're all happy. And we grew by one last year! I've always loved my children very deeply but I have felt such a large, palpable increase this last year. Love is a powerful force. I'm grateful for it and it's capacity to help me come into my own as a mother even more than before. I am very protective of my time with each of the members of my family and our time together as a whole. It is the most precious use of my time. The sweetness and blessing of getting to spend time with my children each and every day really does bring happy tears to my eyes. Getting to give and get cuddles and kisses from those precious children and husband that stole my heart; That's the stuff that heaven is made of - I'm sure of it.

And finally, there is the golden thread of a new perspective: of people, of trust, of faith. It consists of many lessons learned through hard means, but I am grateful for the perspective and the experience of feeling faith in a new way. The story of Christ walking on the water to his disciples has soaked deeper into my soul than ever before.

And with those golden threads I am going to make this next year shine. Which is why my one word for this year is 'Shine'.

I'm going to polish those threads, nourish them and hopefully add some more threads to them. I'm going to take our long list of blessings (because we do have a long list of them that we wrote out together!) and use them. There is light, warmth, purpose and roots in those threads and I am excited for them to be part of 2015. So while I have no plans of large, drastic goals this year, I do have plans of steady, faithful growth in a year filled with beautiful golden threads and my family that I love so much. I am going to immerse myself in my family, soak it all in, enjoy the moments, and be happy.

Here's to a year filled with family, light, love, warmth and faith. Welcome 2015!

Phineas 5 Months

Oh how I wish I could capture the moments perfectly to project them as memories whenever I so choose to walk down memory lane, or when a child wishes to see their childhood days past, or in those distant days when a grandchild longs for a bit of their family history. I'm sure technology will have changed by then and my archaic pictures and books will be quaint and endearing but I will just be happy to know that they are there being looked at and loved. Because I love these people and hope to preserve and document all these little moments such as Phineas turning 5 months old. It was on the first day of the new year. I mused in my letter that I wrote to him (I write letters to my children all the time) that it was a lovely way to welcome the year. We took him to his first museum and he soaked it all in. He is a happy, alert, drooly, active, baby. He is so big in contrast to what he was, yet so tiny in contrast to the space in a room. All the tiny little, chubby details fill my heart to brimming. And that smile. It is perfect. Whatever he can hold he puts in his mouth (we have had to have a few reminders around here to keep the small things out of reach). And he brings a smile to everyone's face. He is very sociable. And he is so very loved. So here are some pictures to try to capture the smiles, faces, drool and happiness (sidenote: he loves that activity centre!)

Family Outing - Biodome

It was time for us to get to the Biodome (we have a yearly pass). The last time we were there was Milayla's birthday. She had a slight panic attack when we walked towards the larger than life fish tank and a large fish started swimming towards her. We worried that it wasn't the great experience that we were hoping she would have for her birthday, yet when we were driving home she proclaimed it to be the greatest outing - ever. So the kids have been wanting to go back for a while, but between the terrible pregnancy exhaustion I had this go around and adjusting to getting 3 kids around the city it took us a little while. So we finally made it on the first of the new year. The kids loved it. We loved it (though, I always have some mixed feelings about all the animals being kept in zoos and the like). We even got to use our German on more than one occasion. Being our first outing of the sort with Phineas - iow. a museum setting - it was fun to see how much he absorbed from his surroundings. He was his usual happy self and very alert to the new sights. As par usual he pulled off his socks and I just couldn't bring myself to cover those little baby toes back up. The kids do remarkably well in places like this; I love all the questions they ask and, inevitably, it leads to them asking when we are going to go traveling again. No plans for travel in our foreseeable future, though hopefully adding some more frequency to our exploring will help us acquiesce that desire. Favorite part of this outing? I think the penguins and the otters took the prize for that one across the board. But between barefoot babies, lots of smiles, learning to identify some fish, sliding like otters, giggles with the beavers (watching the beavers swim was supper fascinating!), and wonderfully curious kids filled with great questions, I think we all just loved soaking in that time together the most. In fact, I'm pretty sure the kids decided their favorite part of the whole day was spending the day together. Gotta love heart melting moments like that!