- Ok, back in the saddle again. I can't believe it's been like 4 months since I've written anything down! And that it took me longer than that to catch up on my blog. But I did it! And I honestly didn't think I was going to. At first I thought that I would just skip the 3 months that I was behind on, but I couldn't reconcile that in my mind. I'm too anal (if you haven't noticed, everything is in chronological order on my blog - I cannot post a newer post until I have posted the previous post). Then, at one point, I thought I would just stop doing the blog all together. But I didn't want to do that either. This is my form of journaling and family history and record-keeping and scrapbooking and baby-booking and whatever else you want to call it. So thanks for sticking around.
- It's impossible to remember all the little details that I've missed out on writing about the last few months, so this is one area where I will just start fairly recently: Thanksgiving. Wow, was that an adventure. I insisted on my mom either coming here for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and we thought that Thanksgiving would probably have better weather, so that's what we went with. Boy, were we wrong! I specifically had my mom fly into Spokane so that we could avoid any mountain passes (we have to drive through two to get to Seattle), you know, just in case the weather might be a little hairy. Well the day she flew - the Monday before Thanksgiving - it had started to snow...the first snow of the season, really. And as we left Wenatchee it really wasn't that bad. Little did we know we were driving into a blizzard, literally. What was supposed to only take 2 1/2 -3 hours, ended up taking us 5! And to top that off, as we were approaching Ritzville, which is about 60 miles out of Spokane, but the only real city left that you go through before getting to Spokane, the Expedition (which we had chosen to drive because of how well it fares in the snow and the space it offered) began making new noises. It already had some issues that we were aware of, but when you're driving in a white out with 50 mph winds at night and your two little ones in the back, new noises are the last thing you want to hear. We were worried. Very. Worried. Lots of prayers were said, by more than just us, and our answers came by way of Bryce's parents getting us a hotel room for the night - a hotel that had a shuttle to the airport that my mom was able to take and get there safe and sound (and then wait for our arrival), and most especially by us making it to the hotel without any problems...and then being able to make it back safely to Wenatchee the next day. It was a miracle. Truly. And as proof, the very next time we drove the Expedition (the day after we got back to Wenatchee), we were only a few miles from our house when the rear suspension totally went out (we were bouncing around like crazy in that car and looked like some of our bronze neighbors rollin' around town in a low-rider). Needless to say, we had a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.
- Oh but there is more. Sadly, Bryce's Grandpa Gilbert passed away that same Monday before Thanksgiving, so his funeral was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving in Seattle with Bryce's family, and then the next afternoon, after stopping for a visit with my mom's cousin, Darlene, we took my mom to stay with some very dear friends of hers - Reid and Marvel Gardner - who live in Cle Elum, and then headed out to Othello to spend the night for the funeral. However, as we were all packed up and ready to leave Bryce's parents' house, our trusty Honda wouldn't start. Really? It got us there just fine, so we had no idea what the deal was, and that now made 3 for 3 of our cars! None of them were working! Bryce's mom was generous enough to lend us her car for the next week and a half, and they took our car in and got it fixed. Don't I have the best in-laws in the world?! And we just got our Suzuki fixed last week, which hadn't been working for months. So now we have two functioning cars again, which is fabulous! And hopefully we can do something about the Expedition before the end of the year.
- You know, they say when it rains, it pours, and not just in de-funked cars, but in death too. My dad passed away in September, and then my sister-in-law, Gaby, her grandfather, who was pretty much her dad, passed away in November, followed by the death of my mother-in-law, Sheila's, father. It's been a sad time, but just like after a lot of rain it gets really green and you just love to see the sun, I feel grateful for more things these days, including funerals. Bryce was commenting at his grandfather's funeral how he really enjoys funerals because you learn so much about a person. I agree. And I also love the spirit that I feel there, such a testimony of the Father's plan for us. I know that this life is not the end and that we will see those we love again. And I'm grateful to have been reminded of that so much lately.
- Anyway, on to lighter things, CJ is finally potty-trained, for real this time! After CJ regressed earlier this year, we had a crazy few months of major changes in our lives, and decided to not try again until things settled down for him. After we got settled here in Wenatchee - about September - I was ready to start again, but I swear, we have been gone every weekend for the like the last 3 months, and I just could not find a good chunk of time to devote to it. So after Halloween weekend - I know! We waited forever! - we were determined to finally get it done before we left for Disneyland. I'm actually really glad that CJ did it twice. The first time, back in February, was a little bit of a nightmare, but he caught on. It didn't last longer than about a month, but something clicked somewhere, because it was SO much easier this time. That, and I think CJ was really ready this time. Within just a couple of days, he was accident free. He wore pull-ups at Disneyland because I wasn't sure how he would do - it had only been a week - and he did amazing! And really, I owe some thanks to Bryce's cousin-in-law, Lindsey. She gave me a great tip, and it only took a couple cold showers to keep CJ from having any accidents in his pants (sounds mean, but you do what ya gotta do)! So nice to finally be past that for CJ.
- In other CJ news, we're so sad that he is no longer in preschool. His class started out with 5, but unfortunately, by November it had slowly dwindled down to just two. By December, his teacher could no longer afford to teach the class, so she had to cancel it. I'm not sure CJ really understands that he's not going back, and we are super bummed. He was making such progress, especially with things like listening and attention span. So now the search is on. We're hoping to have him back in another class by the beginning of the new year. I think it will especially help with his transition into Sunbeams.
- Speaking of CJ becoming a Sunbeam, I'm a little worried. Serving as the Primary chorister and the Secretary, I get to see my son in ways that a lot of parents don't...and I'm not to sure I'm happy about it. For the last two weeks, we've had the oldest nursery kids come into Primary for singing time, so they can have idea of what Primary is going to be like for them. Two things I've noticed about my son: 1) he's a follower. For example, there are 3 boys and one girl who will be the new Sunbeams. Last week one of the boys starting poking the little girl...so CJ joined in. Great! How do I teach my 3 year old to not follow the crowd (especially when they're doing something wrong), and even more importantly, stick up for the underdog? Ugh. And 2) he's kind of a hassle. Ok, maybe more than kind of. Last week he did really well in Primary, at first. Then he started having a hard time paying attention, which I get...I mean, he is only three. But at one point he had flopped himself on the ground in front of his chair...twice. And at another point he started repeating he thought he had heard someone say, so he loudly started proclaiming, "I hate Christmas." I laugh as I write this because it's a funny story, but while it's happening I'm not feeling the humor. And I feel like I'm in such an awkward position because I'm standing up there in front, conducting Singing Time, and my son is acting out. My impulse is to mother him and step in and take care of the problem CJ, but I have a calling to fulfill and I don't want to take away from what I'm doing and draw even more attention to his behavior. And I think my presence is a little confusing for CJ too. "I want to sit with Mommy but I'm supposed to sit here," etc. Any who, here's not looking forward to the first few months of Primary and hoping that it gets better quicker than that...
- And speaking of the new year, Bryce was called as the second counselor in the YM presidency a couple of months ago, as well as being the SCOUT MASTER! He's a little freaked out about it. I think scouts is the one calling he hoped he'd never get, but the Lord obviously sees that our family needs a little growth (especially when it comes to the great outdoors :). So check back in a few months and we'll see how many merit badges Bryce himself can do :)
- 12/16 We went to the dollar store today and as we were walking down the aisles looking at Christmas wrapping paper and whatnot, the kids were both singing Jingle Bells. Everyone could hear them, and thank goodness, they all thought it was adorable. And I mean everyone. I could hear people a few aisles over talking about it, and everyone we walked past commented. I wish I could have had it on camera!
- 12/19 Our home teacher, Bro. Perschon, came tonight and as he started asking CJ questions about Christmas, CJ exclaimed that he wants to be Santa when he grows up! One, I've never heard him say he wants to be anything when he grows up, and two, I didn't know he had such an affinity for Santa!
- CJ calls candy canes, "candyland," and he calls the game Candyland, "the Disneyland game" :)
- Mattie is obsessed with CJ's Buzz Lightyear toy. In fact, she has pretty much confiscated it, and she insists on sleeping with it - yes, the hard plastic toy that makes noise. So we often hear Buzz noises in the middle of the night...
- Mattie takes after her mommy in that she likes the chocolate kiss the best when she eats Peanut Blossoms...except Mommy actually eats the cookies too...
- Bryce and I are SO excited for Christmas this year! Maybe more excited than we've ever been before because CJ gets it this year. He can't wait for Santa to come and he knows all about Santa coming down the chimney - he tells everyone he meets - and the presents for good boys and girls. And we've been working with him on understanding why we celebrate Christmas, so he gets that it's Jesus' birthday and that Santa gives out toys to kids because that's what Jesus would want (we're trying to tie them together). And since this is a Christmas with lots of firsts for us - first Christmas tree, first Christmas Eve with just us, first Christmas morning with just us, first Christmas in our house and in Wenatchee - we're trying to figure out some traditions that we can pass down from our families, as well as make our own. I'm like the most uncreative person you'll ever meet, so thank goodness for the internet - we found lots of ideas and we'll post about what we end up doing later.
- Speaking of Christmas traditions, I remember always getting plates full of treats from neighbors. So now that we have a house and are real grown-ups or something, I thought we should be neighborly and do the same. I didn't make a plate of 9 different treats - I decided to just make 4 different cookies (homemade oreos, snickerdoodles, peanut blossoms, and white chocolate cranberry cookies), thinking that would be easier. Well after two days worth of baking, I realized that I was a fool. And how our neighbors ever made more than one type of treat to give out, I don't know. But I did it, they're done, and they're passed out, all 25 bags of them, and I'm glad we did it...but next year we may take on an easier task :)
- A wonderful sister in our ward, Laurel Anderton, lent me a book of hers a few months ago. I feel so bad that I've had it for so long, and I really want to get it back to her before the end of the year, so I started reading it again last night. It's a great book, Mothering with Spiritual Power, and there have been some things have that really stood out to me, but last night as I was reading, I really had a moment, a true moment that I feel could really help me find so much more joy in mothering. The author is like me in a lot of ways, and so I feel like I can relate to much of what she is talking about, and in this particular chapter, she was talking about the "by-small-and-simple-things"philosophy. She quoted what a friend once told her, that motherhood isn't perfect, but you can have perfect moments of motherhood. As I read this, a light went off. I tend to be a perfectionist and get frustrated when I can't get the whole house clean, finish all the laundry, or even just finish one project that I started at that moment, like the dishes or dinner or blogging. I'm anything but patient with the fact that I have to stop the project I have started in order to, well, be a parent. But I also realize that this is life. I can't expect to be able to clean for two hours straight without any interruptions. And I also know that a clean house and an empty laundry basket is not what makes me a good mom and is not what brings me joy in motherhood. But the great moments we have...yes, those can be perfect; perfect moments of motherhood. And so as I thought about that today, I found so much more joy in reading CJ a Christmas story before his nap, and wrapping Mattie in a blanket and sitting next to her on the couch to watch her favorite movie (can anyone guess? yes, that's right, Toy Story) and even cleaning up CJ after he threw up today. And yes, there were plenty of not-so-perfect, and even regrettable motherhood moments today, but I just felt more edified in my calling as a mom today, and I'm very grateful for that.
Happy Monday!
(even though it's really Tuesday)
