Making it Work

 

Mom flew in on Saturday to help us while LaMonte is out of town.    Hallelujah!!!  We have been searching for ways to keep the kids engaged in activities that are not loud or destructive...a nearly impossible feat. Imagine all of this energy in the hotel room above you.  It is no wonder that the poor family under us keeps threatening to call the police!

 Tuesday morning the older kids helped me set up an Easter Egg hunt for the little ones.  It WAS noisy, but at least it was outside.  Note the intensity of the older kids...determined to help their "buddies" get to the eggs first!

 These expressions pretty much sum up how we have all been feeling...determination, perserverance, faith, and a bit of "Whoa there***HOLY COW***Aaaaahhh!"

Love my boys--Kevin and David

After the "hunt," we went for a walk around the lake by our hotel.

 

 Jacob...I mean "Superman to the Rescue", as he insists on being called whenever he sports his favorite shirt.

Next we were off to Chuck E. Cheese.  Lucky for us no one else was there!!! 

 Henry loved the place!  The rides were great, but reorganizing all of the high chairs and conveniently placing them all over the place was his favorite activity.

 Next it was blood work for Lucy and then we were off to Braums.  We are obviously not pressed for time--making giant straws at Braums.  I don't know if Braums was grateful for the time we were there and our outstanding engineering and creativity, but I am sure our downstairs neighbors were!!!

Welcome Home...or not!

We pulled into our driveway after dropping off the trailer about 20 minutes before Jason and Keith had to be at the church for their campouts.  We sent them rushing in to get their gear together.  Jason came running right back out.

"The ceiling fell down and the house is flooded!" he exclaimed.

 The upstairs toilet had been clogged and ran the whole time we were on vacation.  Wow!  What a mess!  The insurance company sent someone out right away to take care of the water.

We had to evacuate our house.  Tonight we are staying at Homewood Suites.  I have to say the experience of walking into our flooded home was not nearly as hard as bringing ALL of these kids into this hotel.  Within 2 hours several things were broken and the neighbors had already complained about the noise. Ugh!  They are telling us it will probably be at least 4-6 weeks before we will be able to move back in.  LaMonte is leaving to go out of town on a business trip tomorrow morning.  I think I will go with him.  :-)

Inks Lake

Last week we went on a family campout to Inks Lake.   It is a gorgeous park with lots of rocky cliffs and terrain and clear water, which is unique for Texas!!

 

Before we left for the trip, we told the kids we would stop to get ice cream for everyone who did their jobs getting ready to go.  Everyone who did their work with a good attitude would get 2 scoops of ice cream.  Everyone who did their work with a good attitude and went the extra mile would get 3 scoops.  The older kids all earned 3 scoops!  LaMonte stood behind the kids as they ordered and signaled for the lady who was making the cones to give them small scoops.  (I was waiting in the van with the trailer parked in a rather precarious way.)  She squared her shoulders, dug the scoop in even deeper and told him she was a grandma.  The kids were ecstatic with their HUGE triple scoop ice cream cones.

 

The first morning we were there, LaMonte took Jason, Rebecca, and Henry on a morning run.  They also had fun exploring!

Sam loves marshmallows!

There was a beautiful spring fed creek that ran through the rock formations leaving great swimming/splashing pools for the kids to play in.

 

 I took Sarah and Jacob fishing on the bank near our campsite one afternoon.  They were both very concerned about the worms.  Sarah said, "But MOM!  The worm is still living.  Isn't that...like...RUDE??!!"  Jacob said, "Awwww.  The worm wants to go back to his family."

Ben and I went for a morning hike along the rocks of the creek leading to Devil's Waterhole.  It was a fun adventure and will be a cherished memory for me of some precious time with my sweet boy!

Henry did great, but got tired pretty quickly.  He struggles walking on different terrains.  In fact, it wasn't until 6 months ago that he would even walk on grass.  Now he's practically a mountain man!

Jason and David on the cliff at Devil's waterhole.

Lucy is ready to roll!

Jacob telling a story to himself.

 

 

Happiness

This week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me.  As the novelty and adrenaline of having our new little ones begins to wear off, I find myself struggling a little more to keep up with the demands of life in a positive way.  On Monday alone we had an ipad drowned in milk, our cordless phone drowned in the toilet, computer troubles, smeared poop, and countless messes and diapers.  I don't really mind the extra work.  The biggest challenge I am dealing with is the discouragement and guilt I feel when my feelings or reactions don't conform with the image of the person...the mother...I so desparately want to be.  As I read my scriptures this morning, I was reflecting on the power and purpose of the Atonement.  Jesus' whole PURPOSE was to pay the price for our sins AND our weaknesses.  I was reminded that I CAN live with peace and joy in spite of my weaknesses.  As the worry and the guilt fade away, I look back at my week with an entirely different lens.  I see David up early last Monday--doing all of his schoolwork without being asked and writing a powerpoint presentation on faith that was remarkable for a boy his age.  I see Rebecca constantly helping and loving me and everyone around her.  I see the fun we had going running together as a family, going on walks and having picnics.  I also see the many times I reacted with love...the times I did NOT lose my temper.  I see the new recipes we had for dinner, including some awesome sweet and sour chicken.  I see the fun we have had watching Scribbles the kitten, play with Dewey, our dog.  I see LaMonte loving me and seeing only the good in me.  He also got an unexpected bonus this week!  I see Henry talking...finally making the connection that words have meaning and can be used to communicate your needs.  I see Ben and Sarah enjoying time with their grandparents, Keith ordering a cd cleaner to start a business, Jason bringing me a glass of water after a run, Jacob hugging Lucy and saying, "She's MY girl," and all of the other sweet, precious, priceless experiences I have enjoyed this week.  I am so grateful for a Savior whose sacrifice makes it possible for me to live with joy every day in spite of the things that go wrong outside or inside of me.

Special Time with Sarah

 Tonight for special time, Sarah and I went for a bike ride with her new bike.  Then we decided it was time to take off the training wheels!

 Ready to roll!  Unfortunately, it took up more time than expected getting the training wheels off.  We spent the rest of our time together taking pictures of her new kitty, Scribbles.

 Sarah wrote these clever captions.

 "Peek-abo.  I see you!"

 Here is the ever-so-flattering shot Sarah got of me.  Her caption for this picture, "Is there a bunch of wind going everywhere or what?!"

"Awe, you're so cute.  I want to just love you, forever!" -Sarah

Happy Birthday, Henry and Lucy!

 We had a fun celebration this evening for Henry and Lucy's fourth birthday.  Yummy pizza for dinner!

 Pinyata!

Henry was immediately drawn to Grandpa Yorke.  

Truthfully I must confess that I lucked out and got Lucy's doll at Aldi's for only $1.99 on sale with their Christmas clearance stuff.  I don't feel too bad if I filter in the cost of the 3 or 4 gallons of milk she has dumped out, the 3 boxes of cereal, and two boxes of cornstarch...and all of the tupperwares full of leftovers she has fed to the dog.

Henry loves soft music so we got him a nighttime Elmo that plays for him.

Brothers are the best!

 Sam was excited to discover that Henry's new hat was too small for him.  

 David made an M&M cookie cake for Henry and Rebecca made a chocolate cake for Lucy.

Precious!!!