Mother's Day 2014

My feelings regarding Mother's Day are really divided. While I understand that it was created as an idea to honour motherhood, an idea I am completely on board with, it also seems a little silly to need a 'set' day to so. Does it not mean more when someone decides to give thanks to you because they feel particularly full of gratitude that day rather than because that particular day dictated that they do so? 

I feel pretty fortunate that the kids are pretty gracious and thankful all the time so it felt nice to get a few extra special touches on the day of Mother's Day. Besides, the kids were so excited about getting to do a few things to surprise mommy with, even when that meant sequestering me to the bedroom so that they could finish up a few things. 

I guess when Jason asked the kids what they should get me for Mother's Day, the unanimous choice was tulips - there were no other options in their minds. They certainly know my love for tulips! 

And for those smiles!

And for those little hands and their artwork!

And hugs and kisses and cuddles (especially when that ironing board in the background is beckoning for me to finish up so it can go away).

I also got some delicious french toast for breakfast. A treat that I have not had in a very long time! It was lovely.

I love motherhood. And I am grateful to have made the choice to stay home and rear these children. I know some mothers need to make the choice to help support the family financially and go back to work, often sooner than they would have liked, and I believe that their family will be blessed just the same for their sincere hearts and efforts in the realm of motherhood. But I also strongly believe that, whenever possible, mothers are needed to bless their children at home.

But whether we work outside the home or not, we must be actively and consistently loving, teaching and rearing our children. There are so many more faucets to being there for our children than just simply being in the same room as them. Motherhood is full of so much depth, beauty and meaning that can fill us with immeasurable joy, if we let it. I'm always trying to improve myself, particularly as a wife and mother. I feel like I stumble a lot, but it isn't about how much I stumble, it's about how much I get back up, dust myself off and let myself grow in the process. Mother's have an astonishing influence on their children by the example that they set to love themselves and those around them. We don't need to be perfect, we need to be sincerely trying and fully loving. Our children feel our love powerfully when we are giving our hearts in fullness and sincerity. I stumbled on this quote this last week about perfection:

“Would you suppose the Savior [would suggest] a goal that was not possible of attainment and thus mock us in our efforts to live to attain that perfectness? It is impossible for us here in mortality to come to that state of perfection of which the Master spoke, but in this life we lay the foundation on which we will build in the eternity” --- President Harold B Lee

As a mother, I am not only building my foundation but helping to build the foundation of my children. That is a pretty incredible opportunity that God has entrusted me with. I've really enjoyed reading the experiences of the women in this Coming Home Series that you can find over here. It is about mothers, listening to their hearts, and making the choice to be home with their children. Each story is different and I have enjoyed reading the different perspectives and circumstances. I've had more days than I would like to think about, that I have been on the receiving end of hurtful remarks about my choice to stay at home with my children (and, sadly, those remarks have often come from places where I would have expected support) and it just makes me sad to see that people feel the need to do that (and, in some cases, that they do it without even realizing!). However, I have been grateful for the peace and assurance that I have felt through my days that I have made the right choice for me and my family. It is not always easy, but when I let motherhood truly wash over me and embrace it with my whole heart, life feels more right than it ever has.

So, while this post has become much more filled with my opinion than I anticipated it being, I am grateful to be a mother and I am grateful to have two wonderful children who spoiled me with a few extra tokens of love (with help from Daddy) on Mother's Day.

3 Years Old - Milayla

Our little Holland-born Sweet Heart turns 3 today. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday and had so much fun getting to celebrate her and all the wonderful ways she is special and blesses our family. We are pretty lucky to have this sensational girl in our family. We love her so much! 

We did a surprise outing, had a lovely birthday menu of the birthday girl's choosing, took birthday photos and opened a few presents. We just had a lot of fun seeing this girl enjoy her big day and got to enjoy it right along with her. 

I will definitely be posting some more birthday stuff once I get the photos all sorted out, but in the mean time, here is a little sneak peak of that beautiful smile and eye sparkle. We really are just so blessed to have this vibrant, loving, hard working, smart, thoughtful and beautiful girl in our family! 

Easter 2014

Having church a little later in the morning makes Easter Sunday a nice, relaxed pace and I enjoy that (particularly when we had an Easter concert the night before and we all got to bed a tad later than normal). We kicked the morning off with the kiddos crawling into our bed and watching videos about the resurrected Savior. There is something so sweet about getting to squish under the covers to enjoy time together. And I certainly don't mind some extra time to get to stay in pyjamas, either. 

Then it was on to our resurrection egg hunt. I had hoped to do this last year, but despite trying to order with plenty of shipping time, the eggs didn't make it to Germany until over a month after Easter. Just as well, though, as the kids loved them and I am sure that we will get some more Easters out of them yet. 

I think I need to hide some eggs more difficultly next year as Atticus had spotted a good majority just on his morning bathroom trip. He'll get more a challenge next year :)

This smile + Bed head = a perfect picture. Love this girl!

For those who aren't sure what resurrection eggs are, they are plastic eggs that each have one symbol of the life, death or resurrection of Christ in them. There is a scripture verse that accompanies each egg along with some further information (there are lots of tutorials online to make your own set, I liked the idea of buying a set as they are pretty durable and it just seemed simpler to me). The kids loved finding out what was in each one and the definitely learned a thing or two and even Jason and I learned some new things that we hadn't known before! 

The kids were so genuinely interested and I think having the objects to go with the scripture verse helped solidify some of the concepts a little bit better for them. 

And the final egg was empty - intentionally - to signify the empty tomb. Can you see the concern about that in her eyes? She cheered up a bit when she realized that it was intended to be that way.

Then the kids got to go get a peek into their easter baskets. I know families have so many different opinions on the best way to handle easter baskets; some families opt to do them on a different day but we've preferred to keep them a little bit simpler (instead of overwhelming) and keep them on Sunday. It adds to the excitement and considering we try to pick appropriately themed items mixed in with a few goodies, I have never felt like it has detracted at all from our Easter Sunday; it has possibly even added to the day. 

We do however seem to have a problem in buying chemical laden easter candy; I can't do it - even if it is just one day. We definitely want our children to know that it's okay to have sweets, but we still want them to know that not all sweets are quality items we should actually eat. When Atticus remarked about how smooth his chocolate tasted, I feel like we are helping that cause along little by little. The kids got a few small toys, some chocolate and fruit bars and new books. I found some more ideas for Easter themed basket fillers that I am excited to put into motion in the coming years (I had most of the Easter items already at Christmas), but the baskets worked out really well this year. And, of course, they each got some new church outfits. Atticus has his first real tie and has been dutifully working on learning to tie it himself. And Milayla got a new spring dress. 

Here is a better look at the dress. I made it this year and it comes with secret pockets which made the dress an instant favorite. Milayla loves pockets. 

The kids dove into their chocolates right away. Big surprise... Well, actually, I think Milayla ate a fruit bar first at least :). Can't say that we were any better ;). 

Jason headed up the breakfast pancakes in the kitchen. Despite my awesome pancakes on his birthday, I think he still takes the pancake (haha...) on this one.

Pancakes, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, whipped cream, orange juice, and everyone still in their pyjamas - Love it. 

We finally did manage to get ourselves ready for church and even made it there on time. Actually, we are typically on time, but this particular day was probably the closest that we have been to late which felt too much like being late to me... BUT we were there and Jason and I sang in our little number that we had organized for the Easter concert for our church services as well. I'm really pleased with how the number came together. Everyone in the group did a great job and we felt pretty blessed to have each of them fit rehearsals into their busy schedule. I kept meaning to grab a picture of our group but it was never in the forefront of my mind when we got together! There were a lot of visitors at church which made me even more excited to sing. I am probably pretty biased, but I think bearing testimony of our Saviour through song is incredibly powerful. I felt pretty blessed that we got to sing on Easter and the kids were pretty excited that they got to hear the song another time (which is particularly sweet, considering that they heard it over and over again at each of the rehearsals!).

The kids looked pretty awesome in their new Easter wear, too! The love between these two kiddos is so palpable. Yes, they do get in squabbles but they are typically pretty quick to mend them so we have been using this time to help build up those qualities in hopes of having some kind and good communication in our home throughout all their stages of learning and growing (even after they leave home :) ). My heart just spills over with love for each of them and their unique personalities.

After church, Atticus wanted another picture of his new tie so that his eyes could be open in the photo. I certainly can't turn down an offer for pictures!

Then, the kids and I snuggled up to read their new books. Milayla managed to find and snatch my phone, along with take some screen shots, while I was reading Atticus his book.

Then, while dinner cooked away on it's own (I had premade nearly all the elements and they just needed to be popped in the oven/slowcooker) the kids built temples out of blocks.

Then we sat down to dinner together. For the life of me, I cannot remember what all we had. I know we had quiche as the kids helped me make that earlier in the week. Food was clearly not the focus around here. We had lots of talks throughout the day about our Saviour and bringing the purpose of the day more clearly into focus for the kids was our main goal and I think we did a pretty good job of it. That night, as I listened to the kids saying their evening prayers, they both independently expressed their love for Jesus. It's something they do often, but I would like to think that that evening it was possibly just a little more heartfelt. They have such pure hearts.

Oh, and I cannot forget the crowning end of our dinner - Lemon Meringue Pie. Jason's picture-worthy pie was just as delicious as it always is. He really has this meringue business down pat. I love lemon desserts, a perfect welcome for spring and new life!

Oh, how I love Easter. This Easter felt to be bathed in such a different light than past Easters. I think that was, in part, due to the roller coaster ride it feels like we have been on since we arrived. I have never been so grateful for my Saviour and a sense of humour. As things seem to go awry so often I can feel the truly good things become more boldly highlighted in my life, letting me to see the things that truly matter that much clearer. I have a family that I love beyond words that fills my days and my purpose. That's pretty spectacular.

And as I think back on both the Christmas' and Easters that have recently passed I feel an overwhelming need to ensure that I exemplify a love and devotion to my Saviour that fills every day of my years. I want so much for these children of mine to know that following the Saviour is so much more than commemorating his birth, death and resurrection on specific dates. It is so, so much more. He, Our Saviour, is so much more but we must first let Him into our hearts. I truly do love my Saviour and love that I get to share that love with this little family of mine along with the knowledge that He is risen.

Easter Week 2014

Leading up to Easter I was pretty glad that we got to fit in a few fun activities. Due to some song rehearsals we needed to nix our passover dinner, but I felt absolutely all right with that this year. We did get to do our little mini-lessons each night, like Palm Sunday and the kids rode around the house on a donkey, which were a big success with the kids this year. Jason is such a great sport!

And the kids were pretty ecstatic about painting eggs this year. I decided that I would blow out the eggs as opposed to hard boiling them so that I could use the egg in our easter quiche. Let me tell you, that was more work than I remembered it being! The kids cheered when I finally figured it out and they got to paint those eggs to their heart's content. They were so serious about it. I got Atticus to at least give me a look and a smile but there was no breaking Milayla's concentration.

I absolutely loved getting to see those little hands at work. It makes my heart smile.

We used water color paint to decorate the eggs and I think we will repeat that next year. It worked really well.

I think we are partial to blues around here, though!

I'll post some more on Easter soon. We had a great week leading up to it!

April Date Night

We love music around here. So when we can combine music with an historical setting, we're hooked. We had that opportunity back in April (yep, I'm behind on blogging) when we caught one of the student showcases at McGill. It was fun. 

You could definitely tell that the students were fairly 'young' in their program with lots of voice development needed, but their teacher sang the closing piece and she was very talented. It reminded me of a talented friend of ours who sings classical very lovely. We also enjoyed getting to hear a couple new instruments.

Fun little break in the middle of the week! 

Yes, those are piles of snow behind Jason - in April

Books as a family

We read books every night as a family before the kids get tucked into bed. A few months ago, Atticus picked a small chapter book of the shelf as his book choice. Thinking that his and Milayla's interest would not last the entire book we still entertained their interest and agreed to read a chapter each night. And, surprisingly, they were both hooked. They loved working through the book. They loved it so much that when the kids got to pick out books with a gift card they received for Christmas, they eagerly looked at new chapter books that we could read. 

Admittedly, Milayla isn't always interested, as I think following the story along entirely is still a little bit beyond her grasp, but she still loves sitting and listening to the rhythm of the reading and I consider that a good start on her road to reading. We still read a book or two of her choice in the evenings as well, which she is very keen on. I think it all does well to feed her little love for books.

And Atticus certainly surprised us with how well he can follow the story along. We just finished up Charlotte's Web, and Atticus was pretty sad at the end. I think I need to do better at picking books for Atticus to grow into the slightly harder to grasp concepts. As it is though, he has enjoyed the books that we have read. Starting the search for our next one.

Atticus wanted to get pictures with some of the books that we have read so that he could share them with everyone. So here you go! We are missing some as they were library books and have long gone back, but here are a few at least. 

I do love the time to curl up on the couch with a book together!

Good Friday 2014 - Hot Cross Buns

We spent the morning of Good Friday diligently working in the kitchen to cook up some hot cross buns. We nearly nixed this activity (and tried to squish it into a smaller time frame) in favour of filling that time with something else but, as much as I wanted to say 'yes' to that alternative as well, in the end we had to say 'no' in favour of leaving more time to savour a morning with our family. As it was, it worked out so much better. Having more time meant the kids could help out more and by time time those buns were finished (with multiple rise times they are about as time intensive as cinnamon rolls) we were all ready to crash for a nap anyhow!

Love these helping hands!!

Milayla cannot resist snatching tastes of whatever is within her reach.

Ready for the final rise!!

In between rise times we spent some time catching up on our Easter countdown tree and just relaxing as a family. It was so refreshing.

Love these smiles!!

Atticus was pretty happy with himself that he was able to read some of the count down tags himself. He is progressing really well with his reading!

Milayla helped with the lesson for that day.

It felt so lovely to have the sun bathing our living room that day. Because of how our windows are situated, it is a very rare occasion and even the kids noticed the light pouring in the windows.

And the kids were pretty excited about getting to put the egg glaze on the buns. They needed very little guidance. And Atticus let us know that when he is older and has kids, they will be so good at baking too. He plans really far in advance; we're working on helping him enjoy the moment a little more.

The finished result was super tasty. Not quite like the real thing, but still delicious!

And when the afternoon came and was reasonably warm the kids jumped on the opportunity to go out on their bikes.

I'm glad that we decided to prioritize the time with our family. It was a lovely day that definitely filled up our energy stores for how busy things have been. Learning to say 'no' or even just 'not now' is something I need to learn to do a lot better so that higher priorities can come first. A lovely start to our Easter weekend and considering Monday of the Easter weekend isn't a holiday here (a weird change from being in Germany) it was nice to take Friday at a reasonable pace.