The big 4!

It's time for another birthday!  Mr. E turned four-years-old recently and he was very keen to celebrate.  Mr. E has finally figured out what birthdays are and has been excited for his birthday for MONTHS.  Every time we'd celebrate another birthday he'd get excited for it to be his turn, and every time it wasn't his birthday he'd get disappointed.  But now that it really was his turn he had to tell everyone who will listen that he was going to have a "Paw Patrol" birthday and that he would be 4.

Mr. E is such a great kid.  He loves his friends and regularly tells me that his Uncle G is his best friend (the 5 year age difference doesn't phase him one bit).  He loves to help with anything we will let him help with.  He has really started to come into his role as a big brother and sometimes plays well with Baby J.  The boy has a serious lack of "poker face," we always know when he is trying to hide something or when he's done something he knows he shouldn't.  He loves to compete... games, races, wrestling... as long as there can be a winner he's up for it-- and he is a pretty good winner and doesn't get too sore when he loses.  He is very affectionate and loves to snuggle up and watch a movie or show.  He loves to sing and picks up on music quickly.  He likes to hide whenever he hears someone coming, but he gets too giggly for it to be very effective.  He loves it when daddy's friends come over to sing music and gets out his guitar or drum set and microphone to join them-- he's even been on stage at a performance.  Mr. E and our Ginger puppy are still buddies and he has high hopes that, one day, she will sleep in his room with him every night.  His favorite color is red and he was thrilled that he got to play on a tee ball team with red shirts and hats (St. Louis Cardinals).  He really enjoyed tee ball in the spring and is still thankful for it every night.  He is spunky and busy and we love him so very much!

We celebrated with pizza, chocolate cake, ice cream, and presents.  Grandma and Grandpa H were there with all three of my brothers and my awesome sister-in-law, along with Great-Grandpa and Grandma E.  It was a quiet night, but fun and just what Mr. E wanted-- all the attention on him!

He is such a blessing in our home and definitely keeps us on our toes.

At the end of the day

At the end of the day I am tired and usually at the end of my rope-- patience is running low, children are cranky and uncooperative, dishes are piled up in the sink, and often Lawrence isn't home to help (managing retail often calls for unfortunate working hours).  But, somehow this is my favorite time of the day.

Mr. E Starts by picking up his toys while I pick up after Baby J.  Then the real battle begins, it's a fight to get him to go potty, a fight to get him up to his room, a fight to get him to take his clothes off, pick pajamas, etc., etc.  Sometimes I get a little short with him while we battle about these rather insignificant details, but after the battle comes the part that always makes up for it.  After Mr. E has taken care of his hygiene, changed into jammies, and has settled down a little from the day we sit in a rocking chair and read a story.  This is our time-- just Mommy and Mr. E.  Usually we read Curious George, sometimes it's a Junior story, or something else.  He snuggles his little red head into my shoulder, grabs a fistful of hair, and we read.  I often stop to ask about colors, shapes, numbers, animals, or other details (mostly in the pictures).  He answers my questions and also points out details he likes, as well as asks questions.  After his story Mr. E says his prayer, then crawls jumps into his stuffed animal filled bed.  Then we sing.  He gets 5 songs.  Nearly every night he chooses "I am a Child of God," "I Often go Walking," "Families Can be Together Forever," and some theme song from "Phineas and Ferb," there's rarely any variation.  Sometimes he sings along, but most the time he is content to let me do all the singing.  The last part of the night is even better than the rest of it combined.  This is when Mr. E climbs into my lap, wraps his arms around my neck and I sing "A Bushel and a Peck."  He gives me  an excellent hug, a kiss (on the lips), Tells me that he loves me, then climbs back into his bed as I turn out the light.

Once Mr. E is read to, sung to, and "in bed" it's Baby J's turn.  He doesn't put up a fight (yet).  He gets a new diaper, jammies, and some warm milk, then I also read to him.  His stories are much shorter and he doesn't hold still as well, but he also tends to grab a fistful of hair.  There are no questions and answers-- instead there's wrestling the book away from grabby hands that just want to pull it into his mouth.  Then we sing too.  Baby J only gets one or two songs and, you guessed it, "Bushel and a Peck" is always on the list.  We rock, snuggle, and I sing into his ear (which often makes him giggle),   then I kiss him about a dozen times, put him in his bed, and turn out the light.

Some nights I cry.  Every night I revel in the fact that I have been blessed with another day with these sweet, rambunctious, and smart boys.  Every night I take time to thank my Father in Heaven for the blessing of my boys and of the day we have had, and to ask for more days to spend with my Mr. E and Baby J.  I treasure this time I get to spend, one on one with each of my boys.  I am reminded of how special they are and this is the perfect ending to each of my not so perfect days.  No matter how frustrating, busy, productive or unproductive the day, at the end of it I am always grateful that it happened.

Comfort

We all have a little quirk that we use to help comfort us.  When I was young I had this orange, gingham, tied blanket that I liked because I could play with the ties to help me sleep-- I still find myself playing with ties on blankets to this day.  I'm sure you could pinpoint one or two things you do that are similar.

My kids are no different.  Ethne had to touch my rings.  She would hold my hands and find my wedding ring or the ring I wear on my right hand (sometimes both) and rub the diamond with her thumb.  I think it's how she knew it was me.  Mr. E plays with ties on blankets and with hair.  We often find him sleeping with his hands above his head, playing with his own hair, but mommy's hair is best.  It used to drive me crazy, he would wrap my hair around his fingers then pull, hard, to get them out and start over.  He doesn't do the wrap and pull thing anymore, but he still likes to play with my hair, he will often ask me to let a ponytail down so he can play with it.  For now Baby J likes to be swaddled or held tight, even in the NICU they had to use a "frog" (a weighted bag that they place on babies to make them feel like they're being held) to keep him happy at nights when we weren't there.  But there is one constant comforter for all my babies-- music, or really, one song in particular, "A Bushel and a Peck."

A while back I posted about how this song became a staple in our home.  Those memories of singing with Ethne, her wrapped tightly in may arms while she rubbed my rings are still among my favorites. Her sweet voice in unison with mine as we would sing "doodle, doodle, doodle..." is something I never want to forget.  After the accident it was often the only thing that would settle Mr. E down when he got upset and now it is the last song he wants to hear before he goes to sleep.  This song is the first thing I "said" to Baby J after he was born, I couldn't think of any better words to give him,  and now it is also a great comfort for him.  When I share this simple tune with my boys I like to think that their sister is with us, singing right along and helping to comfort all of us...



"doodle, doodle, doodle, doo..."

Mow, Mow, Mow and my heart starts pumping!

(If you don't know what the title means click here)

Lawrence likes to call me the Christmas music Grinch because I don't like Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  I am of the opinion that each holiday should have its own time to shine and playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving takes away from a wonderful holiday.  That being said, I do like Christmas music, just in its proper time.

It is a fairly well-known fact that music is a big part of my life.  My mother plays the piano and organ, my dad sings, and from the time I was three-years-old I wanted to play the "sloop" like aunt "bebbie."  I started playing the piano at about age 4, but don't ask me to play in front of an audience because I freeze and somehow forget how to read music or something.  Finally, when I started Jr. High I got my wish and started flute (sloop).  From day one it became my new passion.  I played all through jr. high and high school and decided to study music education in college.



Enter my bass playing hunk.  When I first started college my mom said something to me about not marrying a fellow music major because musicians just tend to be broke unless they somehow make it BIG.  Unfortunately studying music takes a lot of time and dedication, and music majors tend to spend the vast majority of their time in the performing arts building surrounded by other music majors.  I dated a bit, but only a few guys were not music majors.  Then I met Lawrence, surprisingly not in the music building, but at Walmart.  He was also studying music, Jazz History, playing double bass.  When talk of marriage started he said "I hope you don't mind being broke the rest of your life."  But Money wasn't really a foremost issue in my mind because I knew he would work hard and do whatever it took to provide for our family.  It makes me incredibly happy that Lawrence is so musically talented and can enjoy many of the same things I do when it comes to music.  I am also grateful that we can have incredibly nerdy conversations about music and understand each other.

I am thankful for the musical talents my family has been cursed blessed with and those that appear to have been passed on to my singing toddler.  He knows the words to more songs than many first-graders and loves to sing and match pitch with just about any music.  I am thankful that I can use my talents to help support my family and help others develop their talents.  I am thankful for my private students that provide me this opportunity and put up with me being crazy and in their faces about their music.  I am thankful for the talents Lawrence has and for the country group he is currently playing and performing with.  I am thankful for others who share their musical talents for my listening pleasure.  I love music!

And just because I think he is the cutest ever, here is my Mr. E singing his little heart out.

Grandad

Lawrence comes from a wonderful family with a rich heritage.  One of his great grandfathers was a mission president and ran the Polynesian Cultural Center for a time.  Another of his grandfathers was a professor at Ricks.  But this post isn't about them, it's about Grandad Burt.

Grandad Burt recently celebrated his 90th birthday.  This man has seen a lot in his long life.  He has lost siblings, he saw floods, he lived through the Great Depression, he served in WWII, served as a scout master, Fremont School Board member, and as a state representative for Idaho.  Grandad also married a wonderful woman who has been by his side for more than 65 years through many trials, including the loss of a child.  They don't really talk about it, but they miss their Billy.

One of the first dates Lawrence took me on was to play card games with Grandad and Grandma.  I fell in love with these two people instantly.  Grandad and his stories, Grandma and her sweet demeanor and treats (Grandma learned early that I like Cheetos so she always made sure to have some on hand for me).  They have a beautiful home on the Snake River with an immaculate yard that Grandad kept with such care that it made the city work a little harder on its neighboring property.



Grandad recently became very ill.  He was diagnosed with cancer and has been declining over the past few months.  After a lot of family prayer and counsel Grandma and Grandad moved to an assisted living center.  They are visited by family every day and their children (Lawrence's mom, dad, aunts, and uncles) make sure they are well cared for.  We recently visited and I wanted to spend every moment I could in their room.

It is so hard to see Grandad bedridden and wasting away, but the spirit in their room is so incredibly strong.  On Sunday Lawrence and a few of his friends that he plays bluegrass music with went to the Homestead and played music for the residents.  They gathered quite a crowd in the lobby and the residents really seemed to enjoy the music.  When they were done Nyk and Diane were gracious enough to take a little more time to play a few songs for Grandad who was unable to venture out to the lobby.  He smiled so big and I saw the Grandad I met five years ago.  They played three songs for Grandad that were so perfect for their short visit and really seemed to make his day.

One song they played was "Go Gently Sweet Afton."  I have always loved the song, but it means more to me now and makes me cry every time.  While they were playing and singing that song someone else was entertaining Edward and I was able to just enjoy the music and the spirit in the room.  That is when it really hit me, Ethne was there, and had been a lot.  And not only was she there with us, but other angels were visiting as well.  I didn't get a distinct impression as to the identities of the other visitors, but I would be willing to bet that Billy was there too.  After that I didn't want to leave.  It was suddenly an even sweeter place.

Angels do attend us in our times of need and sometimes we don't even know it.

Grandad passed away Wed., May 8, 2013 at 3:30 am.  His obituary can be found here.