hammock party

Today after church the sun was shining.

The boys ate huge plates of nachos for lunch because Sunday has been dubbed nacho day.

Then 

Kyler invited everyone to a hammock party in the backyard. He got the hammocks all set up and told us it was time. Everyone, except for the little man glued to mickey mouse clubhouse episodes (in portuguese or french, mind you) on youtube, walked up to the hammocks. Kyler even had music playing for us.

It was quite the hammock party! Probably the best one I've ever been to.

Eric was so smart to put up these posts to create a triangle of hammocks. It's a favorite place around here.

My eyes may be closed, but Kyler sure looks happy.

I wish we had a cake so we could've called it a birthday party for my sweet sister Stefanie. Either way we were sending her happy birthday wishes. We love you, Stef!!

mother's day weekend

Motherhood brings me the greatest joy. I feel so blessed to have these four in my life as my children.

I had a perfect mother's day weekend.

First, I got to celebrate with Layla at our preschool Mother's day celebration. The children sang a sweet song for their mom's and then gave them a vase of flowers, a card, and treats that they made during our class time.

This wonderful dad and husband took care of things at home when I went on a Women's retreat Friday through Saturday.

With some help from a few amazing friends, we organized a women's retreat to Ensign ranch for the second year in a row. I so enjoyed planning this retreat and then seeing it come together and turn into a fun, refreshing weekend.

There were 16 of us who made it up there. These are some amazing women who do so much good in their lives! I felt so blessed to be surrounded by them.

We ate our meals together at the long table.

Mindy led us in a few group games, including the game of measles.

We were each given a name for the evening (I was Mother Theresa) and so we had to call each other by those new names. If you were caught using someone's real name you had to put a sticker on your face. I FAILED at this game. After dinner my forehead was quite decorated.

By the end of the evening, I lost with 13 stickers on my face. I basically just kept the sheet of stickers in my hand. It made for a fun night.

After another get to know you game, we had a discussion about enjoying life. We picked four words and broke into small groups to talk and share our thoughts and experiences. The words were: simplify, optimism, fun, and mindfulness. We came back together for more discussion.

We stayed up late that night talking and playing games and working on a little craft to go along with our discussion.

Many of us started saturday morning with a little yoga (I made another fun attempt at leading the class, trying to fulfill my dream to be a yoga instructor). We spent the rest of the time eating, talking, canoeing, walking, and running. After lunch we cleaned up and headed out.

It was lovely coming back home to happy greetings from my family. The next day I was spoiled and I was allowed to catch up on sleep when my family let me sleep in. They came in to get me sometime after 8am and blindfolded me with a tie and led me downstairs to a yummy breakfast and the sweetest cards.

I spent the rest of the day feeling so grateful to be a mom. I spent one-on-one time playing games with each of my special kids.

Going in for a kiss . . . :)

We ended the day with this perfect little walk through the power line trails.

I am also grateful that I got a chance to talk with my fabulous mom on sunday. She is extraordinary. She raised and taught me and sisters with love, mindfulness, simplicity, and oh so much fun. I always knew she loved and enjoyed being a mom. I can only hope my kids will know that about me, too--I love being their mom.

its the small things in life. record them.

This is why I blog:

Our kids love reading our blog books. They pull them out at least each week. 

Which means I better catch up on all the important things I haven't recorded here yet. 

Like, Layla's facial hair. Love this girl!

hard things of today

Many things 

in my life

are wonderful 

and enjoyable 

and bring me all sorts of happiness, love and joy.

But

there's also 

the hard stuff.

I just need to take a minute 

to acknowledge 

the hard stuff of today.

Of course, there are the giant messes 

that appear 

and reappear 

in every area of the house.

But we also have some challenges stemming from 

autism

and a microdeletion on chromosome 15Q11.2 

Like, the boogers smeared on the wall 

in the time-out corner.

And then there are P's tantrums 

that are downright

scary 

sometimes 

and I live on edge 

because I never know 

when they will happen.

If they happen in the car, 

he may unbuckle and hit everyone,

throw whatever he can, including his booster seat,

and scream.

Eric and I divide and conquer 

wherever we go, 

usually because P can only last so long 

in a public or group activity. 

During church, P can be doing great 

with snacks and activities one minute, 

but then the next 

he has thrown his chewy 

and is trying to dump the crackers and throw the toys 

and so we carry him out 

all out of sorts 

until he can calm down.

P got written up on the bus 

and is refusing to work and tantruming at school now.

97% of our family mealtimes and prayers 

carry on 

while P is screaming.

It is hard to train one young child 

to do or not do something 

when another young child 

is not doing/doing it.

P is saying bad words 

and telling people to die and that he will cut them. 

When we tell him to stop 

he thinks it's funny and does it more. 

When we try to ignore it, 

he keeps saying it anyways.

We still spoon feed Perry and help him dress, etc. 

It's more of a focusing 

and motivation 

issue than an incapability.

I constantly have to 

herd 

Perry by blocking his path and using my body 

to guide him where he needs to go.

P can sometimes follow directions, 

but again it's a motivation/focus thing 

so it's a happy surprise when he does what we ask.

It is quite difficult 

to hold a conversation and 

to get/keep his attention.

We worry

about his developmental delays and

are we doing enough to help and support?

We also have a 3 year old 

who is testing limits, 

not telling the truth about anything, 

calling everyone names, and copying the example of her brother 

by throwing and hitting everyone when she is mad.

And my older boys have their things, too. 

E and I sometimes feel guilt that 

we don't get to give them as much time and attention 

as we would like to. 

That basically sums up the really hard things of today.

Like I said, 

there are so many 

good things of today, too 

all mixed up 

with those hard things.

The crazy and overwhelming parts of my life 

sure do help me 

to appreciate the good in my life. 

They also teach me,

keep me humble 

and on my toes. 

I know that one day

I will read this and laugh a lot or 

barely remember what these days are like.

I'll probably just delete this in the near future

because maybe I shouldn't write all these things about our little guy,

but maybe when we open up 

we learn 

we are not alone

and we will be ok

and the hard things will be ok and work out, too.

We are slowly figuring out 

what works and 

what doesn't. 

We feel strengthened 

by the Lord and 

we have received 

inspiration and 

His help along the way. 

The hard things of today are still hard,

but I know we will make it through

and be just fine, and probably be even better for it.