Life is good

Life has been treating us really good lately (knock on wood)! I genuinely feel a great deal of joy in motherhood and excitement for life in general. That doesn't mean we haven't had a few little challenges along the way or even some big ones, but we are having a good time and we feel very blessed. Our life has really changed from what it was so I thought I'd record a general idea of what is going on in our life right now.

 

We still homeschool and have been loving it this year. In case anyone thinks that means I have it all together, I did throw a white board across the room the other day. :) We go on a lot of fieldtrips and adventures. One of our favorite things is doing an adventure pen pal exchange with other kids in other states. One historical place a month!! The kids write their own postcards and it's really good writing practice for them.

 

Our youngest little guy has decided that he is now independent, which mommy is actually very thankful for. He makes his own oatmeal now.

Mommy still is adored by all three of our children who want to spend time cuddling with her on a regular basis. What a wonderful perk to motherhood.

We have had our share of fun with our 3 little buddies who turn out to be dare devils and love rollercoasters.

We have thoroughly enjoyed being the proud owners of 12, now 11 chickens, who are all named and have been treated like little puppy dogs.

New skills have been developed.

 We have developed a family exercise routine, which involved swimming every other day during the summer, but which now includes running every other day. After 7 wks. our 3 yr. old can almost run a whole mile. Next week he will!!!

 

We celebrated our 9 year anniversary with our 3 little friends. We really enjoy hanging out with them. Took them to Texas Roadhouse and Bowling. We all made it on the Strike team!!!

This little kitty wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for this little guy. That's another story! But we've enjoyed playing with baby animals all year.

Brittney's brother Spencer got married to Jen!!!

We went to the Ogden temple open house, and attended the dedication with our 8 yr. old.

Grandpa got engaged to Rhonda. That wedding will happen in a couple weeks.

We attended the storytelling festival and the kids were able to do pottery.

We went to both the Arches National park and Canyonlands national park. We love hiking!!!

We attended an exhibit in the Leonardo museum that shows the insides of real animals perfectly preserved.

We went 4 wheeling.

Our 8 yr. old has really begun to love reading. She even finished her first chapter book.

We went to a new childrens discovery museum.

Our oldest was baptized!

Mommy got to take her to the Women's broadcast.

Life is good.

 Although it may not seem like it, we have in a way simplified our lives. We decided that when it comes to extra-curricular activities this year we want our kids to do what they really love. Our 8 yr. old is doing art and sewing class. Our 5 yr. old is doing Let's Play Music. Hubby works hard and often works from home. He is certified as a General Appraiser. We also have recently become service missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We teach the special needs institute class.

I for the first time in a long time feel genuinely happy about my life and motherhood. I'm not a perfect mother. My house is dirty frequently. I don't always get ready for the day. We only mowed our lawn 5 times this year. I don't always have dinner ready or laundry done and I'll be honest, hubby does the dishes. But life is good. After several years of major trials where life gets put on hold big time, we have been trying to embrace the happy moments we have. Our life is created by us. It's a "choose your own adventure" ordeal (with a few pleasant or unpleasant surprises thrown in every now and then). I don't know that anything huge has made the difference for us, but I have a testimony that there is a reason that there is opposition in all things. I don't know if I would thoroughly appreciate these regular every day kind of moments as much as I do if I hadn't experienced the difference. The irritating, impatient, depressing, exhausting,  frustrating, disheartening moments of motherhood. The sad, hopeless, dark, painful, lonely moments of trials and loss. Mainly time is a huge healing factor. Time: the thing that brings sadness when you look at how fast your children have grown. The fleeting moments of childhood that will never be repeated. Time: the thing that brings relief after a lengthy trial. When the rain outside starts to pour and you feel like you should go dance in it and laugh because of how silly you feel and then start crying because you realize that it feels blissful to laugh! We are only young once on earth. Go where you want to go, do what you want to do, and laugh with your whole soul. Don't turn your back on God, he will give you moments of peace along the way. Time is a gift from Him. Enjoy the time you have. Life can be good!